Elegant Chaos
by Bramblejay
Summary: A werewolf falls in love with a vampire. In terms of elegant chaos, Bella doesn't think she's ever seen a more beautiful example. A/B
1. All Downhill From Here

**_Chapter 1_**

**_All Downhill From Here_**

**_Bella_**

I really wasn't sure why I was so angry, just that I was and whoever dared cross Bella Swan's path today had better be very _very_ careful. It wasn't a common emotion for me, most days I was just sad, anger was something to draw out of the bottom of my soul only when absolutely necessary. A simple Monday morning at my Forks high school was not nearly a good enough reason to pull rage out of the closet but he had slipped out before I could notice and now it was too late. Once the anger came it never left quickly. I stumbled my way through the crowded hallways, head down headphones in. At this point in my school career most people already knew to avoid me and the few friends I did manage tobkeep knew that headphones meant to leave me be. I was thankful they respected that, in their own way, because I'd definitely overheard Jess say more than once that I was strange but that didn't bother me too much, I was _strange_.

I makes my way to my first period class, Math, one of my least favorites. It seemed like a head down on the desk kind of day and I quickly made my way to my back row desk. As other students began to file in I laid my head upon the desk and closed my eyes. I was feeling kind of warm, feverish almost and it occurs to me that I may be coming down with something. Maybe getting drunk in the woods the other night with no shoes on had given me a cold. I knew it had been too cold but it hadn't really worried me at the time, it's been a stressful year and I needed to let off some steam. Maybe I'd contracted the flu from one of the many sneezing, coughing, snuffling students around me. It was December after all, prime time for getting sick. It seemed to be coming on rather quickly though, maybe my recent lack of sleep and food were wearing me down as well, making me weaker than normal. I let out a quiet groan and tried to tune out the lesson until the bell released us.

Second period went much the same, my head began to hurt and the heat continued to grow. I stopped in the bathroom on the way to third period and could've swore I was staring at a ghost in the mirror. My normally pale skin seemed flushed and so much whiter than usual. And the rage hadn't left, I'd snapped at a pretty decent amount of the student body already, far more than normal.

_Why am I so mad? Why do I feel like I'm on fire? This isn't right_.

By time lunch rolled around food is the last thing on my mind but I still allow the obnoxious flow of students to pull me towards the cafeteria. I grabs two bottles of orange juice and slowly makes my way to the usual table. Jessica is already there, along with her boyfriend Mike, Angela, Ben, Tyler, and Lauren. Angela and Ben had a thing, they weren't quite dating yet as they both seemed too awkward to pop the question but they were getting undeniably close. I was happy for them, sweet kind Angela had always been one of my closet friends and I was glad that the bespectacled girl had found someone who made her happy.

"Hey Bella, you feeling alright?" Angela asked with concern in her voice.

"I'm not feeling too hot but it'll probably pass."

Angela eyes me up and down and nods slightly.

"Well text me if you leave early, I can cover."

I smile gratefully at my friend.

"I'll keep that in mind."

There seems to be more noise in the cafeteria than usual. I glance around and notice that everyone around me seems to be focused on a table on the far side of the room. There's a lot of whispers and looks that I'm sure are meant to be sneaky but really aren't. I can't really see who or what they're looking at so I turn my attention back to my table. _Maybe one of them knows. _

"Hey do you guys know what's going on? What are they all looking at?"

Jessica gives me a wide eyed look.

" Do you live under a rock Bella? They're looking at the new kids."

"New kids?" I ask confused.

"Gosh Bella you don't pay attention to anything. People have been talking about them all day, the Cullens, there's 5 of them, two girls three boys and they're all _gorgeous_." Jessica gushes.

Mike shoots her a look and then turns to me.

"Two of the boys were in my English class Emmett and Edward I believe. They didn't talk to anyone but each other, I think they're kinda weird. Stuck up even."

Jessica just rolls her eyes at him.

"I'd be stuck up too if I looked like them. They're like you'd picture greek gods to look like. Gods and goddesses. The big one is Emmett, he dates the tall blonde one. Rosalie I think, and then-"

"Wait wait wait." I interrupt. "Dates? Aren't they siblings? They have the same last name don't they?"

"They're all adopted, by this guy Carlisle. I hear he's the new doctor in town, and he's just as beautiful as them." Lauren tells me with a cheeky grin.

I slowly nod my understanding and try again to get a glance across the room. There's too many heads in my way and I snorts in frustration. _Whatever, what do I really care anyway?_ I tell myself that but something keeps drawing my attention to that corner of the room. Like there's a magnet pulling my eyeballs where I don't really need to look. What is it with me today? I stare a bit longer and then someone stands up and walks away from the table blocking most of my view and I catch just a glimpse of a gorgeous set of golden eyes. _Is that an angel?_ All of the sudden the heat in my body flares up, I think I might be sweating.

_I'm on fire, I need to get out of here._

I lurch up from my seat and all eyes at the table turn to me, startled.

"I gotta go home, I'm gonna hurl. Angela, you'll cover?" I can barely get the words out through my gritted teeth. My head is going to explode.

"Of course Bella. Go home, you look terrible, drive careful."

I'm out the door before the last words leave Angela's mouth. I stumble my way out to the parking lot, hands clamped to my head where white hot pain is exploding behind my eyes. When I reache my truck I can't stop my stomach from emptying the OJ all over the ground next to my parking spot. I thank god nobody parked next to me today. I let it all out, wipe my face and climbs into the truck groaning. The ride home is torture, I can barely keep my eyes open with the pain trying to make them fall out. I'm on fire, a fever probably, but in these moments it feels like real fire trying to burn me to ashes. _Ashes to ashes, we all fall down._ I let out a slightly hysteric laugh at the ridiculous nursery rhyme floating though my head. My body hurts, my bones feel like they're trying to escape my body. And the rage, the rage is at a boiling point. I'm lucky I meet no one on the road because I fear I might very well drive straight over them in my rush to get home. I just want to be _home._ Finally, _finally_, the tiny white house comes into view. I whip into the driveway and just about fall out of the truck. I wobble up to my front door, pushing it open and not thinking twice about the fact that it's unlocked. I immediately collapse on the couch in the living room, shaking even as I sweat buckets.

"What the fuck is wrong with me." I moan out.

"I could probably explain it to yah Bells."

**_xxxx_**

**_AN: Okay so this is my first story in a long time. If it sucks, let me know. If you like it, you could also let me know. Suggestions welcome, hopefully this'll be fun ride_**.


	2. Strange Things Did Happen Here

**_Chapter 2_**

**_Strange Things Did Happen Here_**

**_Bella_**

"I could probably explain it to yah Bells."

My eyes shoot open, looking for the source of the voice. Of course I recognize it, how could I not know my own cousin's voice? The real problem was why I didn't notice him standing so calmly in the corner when I walked in. In response my head shoots another electric bolt across my brain and I stop worrying about everything to scream.

"What's going on Jake?" my voice is raspy, my throat burns worse than the rest of me.

"Well I mean it's kind of complicated and to be honest you'll know soon enough."

His voice is too calm and my rage grows tenfold. _How dare he be so calm right now? So collected? I'm probably dying of a stroke right now and he just stands there smirking, playing guessing games. Guessing games!_

"Jacob." I all but growl. "Explain." The words are hard to get out, it feels like my throat is closing.

"Well," he starts with a sigh. "You know the legends Bella, you grew up half on the rez, you know C-" a pause as he eyeballs me. " You know your dad is..was half Quileute so I mean this should be an easy jump for you."

I squeeze my eyes shut tightly and try to control my breathing. Legends. Quileute legends. Pale faces? No, not that. _Wolves_.

"Girls don't turn." It comes out as a snarl.

"Now that's not necessarily true. We just believed that for a long time. But Leah Clearwater turned 3 weeks ago. Times are changing Bells." He chuckles lightly at the end and for some reason the sound burns in my ears.

Before I realize it I'm standing, facing Jacob with my fists balled tightly at my sides. He takes a step back.

"Whoa now Bella, you don't wanna do that inside. Trust me."

I'm long past caring though and I'm sure Jacob can see it in my eyes. I feel like I'm unravelling, my body is shaking so hard I'm surprised I don't just collapse to the floor, didn't just shake apart like an earthquake splits the ground. Jacob slowly began to move towards the back door, my eyes follow him, my body twists with them. He moves with his hands up in front of him, likes he's trying to come off as innocent, not a threat. For some reason that makes me angrier. As Jacob's hand reaches the door handle and begins to push it open, I lunge. We fly through the door together and with a flash of heat I crash directly into the ground and then everything changes. I slam my eyes shut. There's an angry sound echoing around me. A growl? _Who's growling?_

_That would you Bells._

The voice is cautious sounding, even in my head. It makes me jump. The voice sounds like a nervous Jake, but why is it in my head? _Why is he in my head?_

_You're one of us Bella. Open your eyes._

I think to myself that I'm taking all this rather calmly. I mean voices in your head are never a good sign right? Even if it's just one and one that belongs to your cousin, practically your brother at that. Still, it's probably not great and I think that opening my eyes probably won't do much more damage to my sanity, so I do it. Everything looks different, clearer, sharper some how. The colors are all so much brighter, the air is so much warmer, and the pain has momentarily left my body. I gaze around in wonder until my eyes fall upon Jacob, standing a considerable distance away, his russet colored fur standing up almost straight.

_Why has he shifted? Why can I hear him?_

_Because you have too. Look down._

So I do, because I'm not feeling particularly combative anymore. I look down and see fur. _Fur_. I'm covered in chocolate brown fur.

_How? Why?_ The thought is barely a whisper.

_That's a long story Bells, might as well sit down._


	3. Blood Ties

**_Chapter 3_**

**_Blood Ties_**

**_Bella_**

"It's pretty simple really, I'm surprised you didn't expect it."

Jacob and I have phased back, and after an embarrassing moment of having to send Jake to find clothing for the two of us, we had sat down on the couch.

"You know my dad and your dad were half brothers," Jacob begins. "So Charlie was only half Quillete, and then when him and your mom got together and had you we didn't really expect anything to come of it. I mean you've only got the tiniest amount of Quillete blood in you and until Leah we didn't even realize girls could shift."

I nod my head slightly in understanding. I don't really want to talk to about Charlie and Renee right now, the wounds are still fresh. Charlie has only been dead for a year now. Renee was a little different, she'd died in childbirth and that's how I had ended up with the last name Swan instead of Black. Charlie wanted Renee to live on in me and had given me the best thing he could think of, Renee Swans last name.

"So since my dad is your official guardian, even though you live here, the school called and let him know you've been acting strange. Leaving early a lot and looking pretty angry all the time. They mentioned you telling off teachers and students like it was nothing over silly things. So my dad started to wonder and I've been trying my best to keep an eye on you since. We were worried you'd get angry at school and phase right there in front of everyone, we're glad you made it home okay."

"Did they call today when I left early?" I ask.

"Of course, that's why I was here waiting for you." Jacob smiles at me.

It's a lot to wrap my spinning head around, obviously I knew my father and Jacob's father were half brothers but it never really occurred to me that he had Quillete blood. My grandmother wasn't one of them, and my own mother wasn't one of them so that tiny sliver of Quillette in me was never thought of. They didn't live on the rez and Charlie didn't really look the part anyway. I sure as hell didn't look like them with my pale skin, but still there was no denying that I had definitely turned into a giant wolf outside, that seemed like proof enough. I was jerked out of my thoughts as Jacob begins to speak again.

" So now you have a choice Bella, you can stay living here and stay at Forks High or you can come live on the rez with us. The only issue in the long run is if you stay here you won't be considered a full part of the pack. We won't call on you for patrols or fights or anything like that and you can pretty much do your own thing. Of course if something went wrong and you needed help the pack will always fight for you, in all technicalities you're one of us. Kinda like the adopted sister." Jacob lets out with a laugh.

Stay here or go live on the rez? Of course I would stay here, this was the home I had lived in for my entire life. The home Charlie raised me in. If I didn't leave with his death, I sure as hell wasn't going to leave over this. And besides, did I really want to be part of the pack? Having to be responsible for the safety of the whole reservation. Having to follow the pack leaders orders, always no matter what. Having to shift naked in front of all those guys, constantly. Having my every thought heard by the entire pack and in turn having to hear all theirs. No, I would definitely be staying here.

"I don't think so Jake, I think I'll stay here. I'm not ready to leave my home yet." I tell him quietly.

"No worries Bells, my dad figured as much, he told me to ask though. You're always welcome with us." He smiles.

I smile back and gives him a brief hug.

"Thank you Jacob, what would I do without you?"

"Gee Bella you'd probably just stay moping around the house for the rest of your life without me to make things fun."

We laugh together even though there's truth in his statement, I probably wouldn't leave the house. My cousin was my one constant, always there for me when I needed him. He was like the brother I never had and I was eternally grateful to him and my Uncle Billy, they'd both helped me through so much.

" As for school, " Jacob begins after a moment, "You need to be very careful with your emotions, mainly your anger, you cannot allow yourself to shift in front of anyone. It could be very dangerous for you and them, an angry wolf blacks out Bella, there's no telling who you could hurt or worse."

I feel a shiver down my spine at his words, I'll need to be very careful, especially with my emotions being a little put of wack lately. This is gonna take some serious self control. I nod quickly at him anyway.

" I understand Jake, I'll be careful." I tell him with what I hope is a reasuring smile.

He eyeballs me for a moment, like he doesn't really believe me, but continues on anyway.

"If you need to leave early or skip days all together that's okay, my dad will handle it when they call. We need to keep this secret safe, no one can know. Especially now." Jacob ends with a disgusted look.

"Why, what's going on?"

"There's a clan of bloodsuckers back in Forks." Jacob sighs. "They don't hunt humans, they feed off of wild animals, they're the only clan we've ever encountered that does it like that. That's why we have a treaty with them, they stay off the rez and don't harm a soul and we leave them alone. The only problem is that you're on their side of the treaty line, so you'll have to deal with them on your own. They won't bother you, they'll have no reason to. It's best if you just avoid them like the plague to be completely honest."

My head is spinning, this is all too much at the moment. My head still hurts and I'm tired, oh so very tired, but I try my best to retain it all. I feel like I should have more emotions than this, but I can't seem to find the appropriate feelings. I can't seem to find anything at all. Still I smile at Jacob.

"I'll be fine Jake, don't worry about me." I tell him gently.

He grins back

"If you say so Bella, but I think I might keep worrying a little, I mean you are a magnet for trouble."

Once again we laugh together at this, we both know it's true. Maybe the wolf in me will make me less clumsy, that would be something. Less accidents, less broken bones, it was definitely something I could get behind.

"I guess that's all Bells, you're looking pretty beat so I'm gonna head back home. If you have any more questions or anything just call me, I'm never too far away." He laughs.

"Of course, thanks Jake, tell Uncle Billy I send my love." I give him a tight hug.

"Gotcha Bells."

And with that he heads out the front door, closing it lightly behind him. I move over and lock it, better safe than sorry as Charlie used to say. I make my way to the kitchen, search around for food for a moment before settling on the bottle of Jack Daniels that sits on the top shelf of the freezer. The only good thing to come out of my recent growth spurt is that my fake ID was completely passable now, no matter where I went. Some places didn't even card me, I looked the part. I take a couple swigs from the bottle and carry it up to my room. I slip into shorts and a tank top to sleep, take a couple more sips off the bottle, and then fall into my messy bed. The booze seems to be just barely numbing my throbbing brain. It's not enough yet and I just want to sleep so I quickly pound down a few more shots. Drunk at 17 years old in my bedroom on a school night. Charlie would be ashamed, Uncle Billy and Jake would be too if they knew, and who knows, maybe my poor mother would be ashamed too. With those cheery thoughts drifting through my brain I slip off to sleep, dreading tomorrow, and the day after that, really just dreading forever.

**_xxxx_**

**_AN: Hey guys, I appreciate the reviews I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Things should be speeding up a bit now, just wanted to set the scene and the characters before I got into the good stuff. Alice will definitely be showing up in the next chapter, bear with me guys._**


	4. Bottom of the Bottle

**_Chapter 4_**

**_Bottom Of The Bottle_**

**_Bella_**

The next morning I wake up with the same headache from the night before, just a bit dulled, and I know that today is likely to suck. The sun is too bright, my body still feels weird, and my anger is still boiling underneath the surface, just waiting for me to slip up. I sigh deeply and swing my legs over the side of my bed. The bottle still sits on my nightstand and after a brief thought I take a couple quick shots. My head starts to numb up a bit more and I pop 3 Tylenol down with another shot. Satisfied I stand up on only slightly shaky legs and head to the bathroom for a shower. I wash up and dry off quickly, brush my teeth, brush out my too long brown hair and get dressed. I'm feeling unapproachable today and decide my clothing should match that. I throw on a black long sleeve t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and my typical black Converse. I slip on a dark jacket over that, it used to be too big but with my recent high gain it's fitting pretty well. I'm glad, the jacket belonged to Charlie and I'm happy to have it even if it doesn't hold his scent anymore. The ride to school is uneventful but as I get closer and closer my heart beat begins to pick up. I'm nervous, for a number of reasons, mainly that I'll phase in class and hurt someone or that those vampires will start shit with me. I try taking deep breathes, repeating a little chant over and over in my head. _In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Breathe Bella, breathe. _

I don't think it's working but I pull into my normal parking spot and hop out of the truck while still chanting in my head. I pop my headphones in but don't put any music on, I just doesn't want to be bothered today and headphones are the best way to let people know that. I walk past my friends and give them a brief smile, hoping they won't want more than that. They seem to get the picture, Jess and Angela smile back at me but stay where they are. I think I'm lucky to have friends that understand me well enough to leave me alone when needed. I make my way through the hallways and find my way to math class. My back row space by the window is open and I plop down into it gratefully. I don't pull the earbuds out yet, just watch as everyone else finds their way into the room. I'm just beginning to relax when a smell hits my nose hard enough to make me physically lurch back in my chair. It's not a bad smell per say, it smells like earth, like the woods after a big storm, with a sickly sweet undertone. Like a dying flower almost. It's not the worst thing I've ever smelt but it's driving the wolf inside of me insane. I'm beginning to shake when a tall blonde frame walks into the room and our eyes meet. The girls lips curl up into a grimace and if looks could kill, I feel like I'd be dead on the spot.

_Rosalie_. The name comes to me after a moment, I remember it from lunch yesterday. _The blond Rosalie dates the big one, Emmett_. She's gorgeous, like runway model gorgeous, but the cold look in her eyes as she stares back at me is definitely scary. She's intimidating, which makes a lot of sense knowing what she is. Finally, our eye contact breaks as the blonde sits in a chair near the door. I'm still shaking and I start the chant up again. _In through the nose, out through the mouth. Breathe Bella breathe._ The teacher walks in and calls everyone to attention. I don't pay her any mind, I don' t even take my earbuds out, I just keep my eyes locked on the back of Rosalie's head, trying my best not to let the wolf inside of me do what it wants. I've never really felt the need to hurt anyone before, never mind kill, but my brain is screaming for the blonde ones head.

The hour drags on endlessly, and when the bell finally rings Rosalie is out the door first, with a still shaking me hot on her heels. Second period goes smoother, I calm the shaking and start to breathe more easily though I'm still on edge. Third period proves to be twice as difficult, as I sit at my desk the earthy smell hits me again and two more vampires walk into the room. I think I should be grateful that they're so easy to pick out but at the same time the smell is burning my nose and I'm back to square one with the shaking. Over the course of the hour I figure out their names. The big one is Emmett as I already knew, and the skinny one who looks like he's in pain is Jasper. They only eyeball me once or twice, not with as much venom as Rosalie but still not exactly friendly. When the lunch bell rings I'm not sure if I should stay or go home. I make my way to the cafeteria and linger outside the door for a moment, lost in thought. A couple people pass in front of me and as they push the door open I can smell the vampires again, unbearably strong. They must all be in there, and I know that even though I should get a look at the last two it's probably a better idea to leave. I take a deep breath, trying to hold the scent for a moment, trying to build up some resistance, when something else hits my too sensitive nose. It's mixed with the bloodsucker scent, but it's different. Like strawberries and bubblegum and rain when it hits warm pavement. It smells like freshly mown grass in the summer and the crisp scent of the wind in winter. It throws me off for a moment, makes me want to push the door open and sniff out the source of this tantalizing scent but then the dead flower smell hits me once more and I turn tail and run.

I make it to my truck, hop in and speed away. I don't get too far before I pull off to the side of the road, shut the truck off and get out. I make my way into the forest, and once I feel deep enough to be away from prying eyes I begin to strip. I pile my keys and clothing under a bush and then let the beast that's been roaring for hours out.

It feels weird to shift, it's not painful and it's pretty much instant but there's still a moment of weirdness where you don't feel human but you don't feel like an animal. It's surreal. I take off running into the forest, loving every second of the wind flowing through my fur. I can see everything, smell everything, hear even a leaf drop to the ground. This is the most freedom I've felt in pretty much my entire life. I could go anywhere, do anything, I was unstoppable. _T__his is amazing_.

"_I think graduating high school could also be amazing_."

I stop running at the voice in my mind, knowing it's just Jacob. A moment later he comes bursting through the trees with a large white wolf and a slightly smaller russet brown one. Jacob walks up to me and we touch noses briefly.

"_This is Seth and Leah, you won't be able to hear them or them you since you aren't officially in the pack."_

"_Why can I hear you then?" _I ask, slightly confused.

_"I'm different, I'm in the pack but technically due to my grandfather I should be the alpha. I just don't want to. So since I consider you part of my pack we can hear each other. Or at least that's what my dad thinks, I asked yesterday."_

Jacob finishes with a sheepish grin that seems too expressive to be on the face of a giant wolf. I nod my head at Leah and Seth in greeting and they nod back. I know them both, have since I was young, Leah amd I used to be very close until Leah started dating Sam Uley from the reservation. After they broke up, Leah still didn't seem to want to hang out with me anymore and we'd pretty much faded apart. Seth was like the younger brother I never had, he was always smiling, always excited to tell me about some new thing he'd done or saw. I was thrilled to see them, even if it was a little awkward not being able to talk.

"_Why'd you leave school early Bells?"_

I was expecting the question.

_"I met the bloodsuckers. Or at least I had classes with a few of them. It was…overwhelming"_

_"Yeah figured as much. You up for a run to blow off some steam?"_

_"Of course."_ I raise my head and give the three of them a wolfish grin. _"Race yah."_

With that I take off running, and after a moment Jacob, Leah, and Seth are right behind me. We run for hours, me feeling the most carefree I have in ages. I have an incredible time running and play fighting with the them, it's exhilarating and _oh_ so _peaceful_ to not be so caught up in my thoughts. I even beat Seth in a mock fight, much to his displeasure. Eventually we begin to make our way back as the sun sets around us, sending crazy shadows across the ground. When we split ways at the treaty line I tell Jacob to warn Billy that I won't be attending school tomorrow. I'm going to use the day and the weekend to try and prepare to deal with the Cullens. Jacob agrees easily and tells me to call if I want company. I know that I most likely won't but I tell him okay anyway. Seth and Leah give me one more nod before they head back to the reservation. Jacob looks back once and nods to me, something like a smile on his face. I send back my own toothy wolf grin and head off to find my clothing bush. I find my stuff easily enough, shift back and get dressed before heading back to the truck. It's a short ride home and I'm glad for it, I'm feeling pretty tired. Once I get inside I plow through a couple of leftover slices of pizza and then take a quick shower. The bottle on the night table is almost empty but I've got a stock of new ones in the kitchen so I quickly finish it off and let the booze send me off to dreamland.

The morning comes quickly and I waste no time in grabbing a new bottle and taking a few shots. I'm not really sure what led to all this drinking. Charlie passed only last year just before my 16th birthday and at that point I'd only drank a few times at parties and never really too much. It wasn't until after Charlie's death that I felt the need to drink more often. I liked how it numbed me, took away all my worries and fears. Once I was drunk I was happy again, a feeling I didn't get too often these days. I know for sure Charlie wouldn't approve, even Jacob, who drank here and there himself, wouldn't understand my near constant need to have a drink. So I made sure to hide it pretty well, brushing my teeth 6 times a day and always chewing gum when I knew I had to interact with people. No one even suspected, I was damn good at keeping things low key. I didn't really enjoy being drunk anymore, I just wasn't sure how to get through all the shit life kept pulling without it.

And that's why I spent all of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in a drunken stupor on my couch. I get a few texts and calls but I ignore them, only taking the time to text Jake back and tell him he doesn't need to come by. I want to be by myself, I want to wallow in everything. As if life wasn't shitty enough, now these leeches had to move here and fuck my whole situation up. How was I supposed to get through another year of school when I could barely be in a room with them without almost losing my shit? Mind you, I wasn't even sure if there were more in my other classes as well. I mean Forks is a small school, too small to avoid anyone really. This was going to take too much focus, too much self control, and I just don't really want to have to deal with that. Of course I could move down to rez, but I didn't really want to do that either. This was my home, when Charlie died I found out he had money put away for me so I didn't have to give up the house. I was set for a long time without even needing a job and I felt like getting rid of our home would be like a smack in the face to Charlie. He worked so hard so that I would be set if something happened to him and I just couldn't throw his efforts away. All weekend I floated back and forth, trying to decide what to do. By the time I crawled into bed Sunday night I'd made my decision, I would stay and deal with the bloodsuckers. They wouldn't push me out of my own school. They could coexist, it was possible. With that I drifted off to sleep, trying my best not to worry about what tomorrow would hold.

Monday morning came and I couldn't help but take a few shots of liquid courage before getting myself ready for the day. I put on an older t-shirt and jeans, reasoning that if things got to be too much I could leave and phase without worrying about my clothes. If they got ripped, they got ripped, I had bigger things to worry about. When I parked and got out of my truck I could smell them in the air and my senses were instantly on hyper alert. Math dragged, Rosalie gave me a withering look before taking her seat and I tried my best not to breathe too deep. I made it through second period and third, and by lunch I felt like maybe this wouldn't be so bad. I could avoid them, and when I couldn't, I could control myself.

I entered the cafeteria and made my way quickly through the lunch line. I didn't sit at my usual table, just gave my friends a quick nod and made my way to a table across the room. I wanted to get a good look at the Cullen's table, I could tell where they were from the smell and positioned myself so I could observe. I still hadn't see the final two bloodsuckers and I thought it'd be best if I knew what they looked like. Know your enemy and all that jazz. I stuffed my earbuds in again to keep people from trying to engage me in conversation and began to eat. I could only see Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper's backs, the other two were on the opposite side of the table. It frustrated me but I figured once they stood I'd be able to get a good look. I tried to eavesdrop but they were speaking too low for even my ears to pick up. The delicious smell was back, it was definitely coming from the Cullen's table but I couldn't figure out why. Surely they must all smell the same, why would one smell different from the rest? Why was the smell so appealing anyway? It still had that earthy tone to it, but it seemed different.

I let my eyes scan the caf and listened as closely as I could. People were still talking about the mysterious new kids, a week hadn't made them any less interesting to the general student body. I listened intently, hoping to pick up the names of the last two Cullen's. It didn't take long, the name Edward kept coming up. _He must be the third boy, now who' s the last girl?_ I knew the last was female, I'd gotten enough of the gossip from Jessica to know at least their genders. Three boys, two girls, plus they had a father and mother. Seven vampires running around the tiny sleepy town of Forks. It was like the place was a trouble magnet, just like myself.

As I mused the big one called Emmett and the blonde stood up. _They're moving, finally._ I keep my eyes glued to the table as Jasper also rises, a moment later the three vampires turn and walk away, leaving behind the elusive last two. Edward and someone. My eyes finally fall on him and I can instantly see why it's his name being whispered by every girl across the room. He's just as gorgeous as the rest of them, with tussled bronze hair and the face of a god. I'm not too impressed though and let my eyes drift to the girl beside him. In that moment everything freezes. My vision tunnels until all I can see is the tiny dark haired girl across the room. Every sound goes silent and becomes background noise, muffled and nowhere near as important as this tiny pixie of a girl. She's got short spikey hair and a petit face, she looks like a ten year old could break her in half but I knows that isn't the case. Her eyes meet mine and I feel like I'm melting, melting away into this crappy plastic chair because the angel is looking at me and _my god_ she's smiling at _me_. That smile could melt million year old icebergs in seconds, that smile just melted my rock hard heart in no time at all. I understand the smell now, this sweet goddess has to smell as she looks, it makes perfect sense really. Suddenly, as I watch, the dark haired girl drops her eyes to her table as they lose focus and glaze over. Edward watches her with a knowing look on his face and as he does his expression changes to one of shock. He looks up at me, confusion clear in his honey colored eyes and I snap out of my trance. I need to get out of here. _Now_. So I do. I jump up from the table and race from the room. I don't even bother getting into my truck, just throw my backpack in the bed and run to the forest. As soon as I'm under the trees I shifts, my clothes shred around me and I race deeper and deeper in. I stay away from the reservation, I don't want company and Jake won't cross the treaty line with the Cullen's around. I'm not sure how long I run for, just that eventually I come to a stream and plop down in front of it. I sit there for a moment and before I know what's happening I throws my head back and howl. It's a sad howl, a confused one, I can hear the pain in each note. I don't stop for a full minute, the howling feels like yelling would and that's what I need most right now, to yell at the sky. _What is going on with me_. My heart hurts and I'm not sure why this time.

Eventually the sun sets and the forest is covered in shadows. I make my way back to the school parking lot and, very grateful for the darkness, I shift back. I dig gym shorts and a t-shirt out of my backpack and slip on my gym shoes as well. I get into my truck and drive home as quickly as I can. I don't stop once I'm in the front door, I just head straight upstairs and fall into my bed. I grab the Jack Daniels bottle and drink half of it before I can even taste it. I fall asleep with the bottle cradled to my chest and my shoes still on. My last thought before sleep consumes me is that I never even learned my angels name.

**_xxxx_**

**_AN: This chapters a little longer than the last few but this is the kind of length I'm planning on using from here out. Hope you guys like it, I think the next chapter is gonna be from Alice's POV. Thanks again for the reviews, you guys rock. If there's something you don't like let me know that too, I'm down with the constructive criticism._**


	5. Keep Seeing Visions Of You

**_Chapter 5_**

**_Keep Seeing Visions Of You_**

**_Alice_**

Alice Cullen was used to the new kid, new school routine. The stares, the whispers, the way every eye always seemed to be trained on me and my siblings. I was used to it, but it still never got old. Attending high school over and over again might seem like a drag to most normal teenagers, but I'm _not _a normal teenager. After walking the earth for almost 100 years, it was still exciting to start at a new school with new faces and, most importantly, new fashions to study. I love fashion, clothing and shopping more than anything, so at each new school I was always thrilled to get a look at what the kids today were wearing. Magazine's can't teach you everything.

The only thing that annoyed me about the new setting was that in a small town like this, my family stood out. Anything new here was instantly noticeable and, try as we might, the Cullen clan was never overlooked easily. We stand out to the humans in a way that the humans themselves will probably never fully understand. We're all good looking, which pulls the humans in, especially the young ones at the high schools we've attended. At first they were always drawn to the Cullen's, but most times the humans stopped short of them, they would come close but not all the way, never all the way. For the most part they couldn't even work up the courage to speak to any of us, even me, who was decidedly the most friendly looking in my personal opinion. I understood why they stayed away from Rose and Emmett, they were clearly a couple and the death glares Rose could give and Em's gigantic size pretty much kept everyone away. Jasper always lookd like he was having a rough time and Edward has a way of looking down on people. I guess all and all we weren't the most approachable group.

"That boy over there thought about introducing himself to Rosalie for a whole five seconds, that's a new record." My brother Edward informs us with a chuckle.

Edward has a gift most vampires don't, he can read minds which often comes in very handy, other than when one has a thought they'd like to keep to themselves. Rose, Emmett and Jasper all turn to the boy Edward indicates. When he sees them staring a look of panic crosses his face and he hops up from his seat all too fast, resulting in his entire lunch tray falling into his lap. As he races from the room, beet red with embarrassment, Rosalie and Emmett laugh while Jasper merely looks on with a slightly amused look on his face. Jasper has a hard time out in public like this, he's the newest addition to our family and he still struggles a bit with the vegetarian diet. We won't hunt humans, that's what allows us to blend into small towns like this. We play the part and most people never suspect a thing. When they do, Edward usually knows and we move on. Sometimes I'm the one that has to warn everyone, I have a gift, like Edward's, though still different. I can see the future, although it's always changing. I can see the path people are on when they decide on one, but people's minds change a lot and thus my visions change constantly. For the most part though they're helpful, and I'm glad to have them.

"I think I'm ready to get out of here, I need to stop by the bathroom to check my hair before class." Rosalie says.

Rose is a bit obsessed with appearances, she looks great all the time and still she constantly frets that she isn't at her best. I'm not sure why she cares what these people think, it's not like any of them plan to befriend us. Plus she already has a mate who adores her, my brother Emmett would do anything for her. Rosalie is a difficult one to figure out sometimes.

"I'll go with yah babe, we can explore the school a bit, maybe find a nice dark closet." Emmett winks suggestively at Rose, who just laughs and gives him a light slap to the shoulder.

"Slow your roll monkey man, we can't be knocking the school down." Rosalie giggles.

"Gross." Edwards mumbles, to which Emmett laughs even harder.

"One day you'll find a lucky lady, then you'll understand Eddie."

Edward just rolls his eyes and looks down to his uneaten lunch. Both Edward and Jasper haven't found mates yet, though Edward has been spending some time with Tanya, a member of the Denali clan. Like us, the Denali's only hunt animals, they've been friends of ours for many years.

"I'll head out with you guys, it's a bit stifling in here. Think I'll check out the library." Jasper says with his southern drawl.

Edward looks over at him with a slight frown. I can tell he's trying to get a feel for Jasper's thoughts, he wants to know if Jasper is as calm as he's trying to portray. I close my eyes for a moment and let my vision stretch. _He's okay, I see nothing terrible in his future._ Edward hears my thought and gives me a tiny nod.

"Me and Alice will just stay here, catch up with you at the car later." Edwards tells them.

Rose, Emmett and Jasper stand together and make their way across the crowded room. Every eye follows them and it makes me laugh. Even though the humans subconsciously know that we're dangerous, it doesn't stop them from being enthralled by us. It gets a little annoying to be honest, it's a bit of a pain to have to pretend to be human. Pretend to blink, pretend to breathe, pretend to fidget, pretend to eat. It gets old and it doesn't help that the humans are always watching so we have to be very careful to never slip up.

It takes me a moment to realize while every eye in the room is on the retreating backs of my siblings, there's still one set of eyes trained on Edward and I. I glance across the room and my eyes meet the most gorgeous pair of chocolate brown I've ever seen in all my years. The girl is pretty, beautiful even though she's wearing kind of scrubby clothes. A tom boy of sorts, but her long brown hair is silky and looks like it'd be as smooth as butter and I wonder briefly what she uses in it. The girls heart is racing a million miles a minute, I can hear it across the room and she's blushing, but she doesn't move an inch or look down. _What a strange human_.

"She's not human." Edward whispers to the side of me. "She's a shifter, probably one of those Quileute's from the treaty. I can tell from the scent. Not sure why she's here though instead of in their school."

A shifter. _A werewolf_. I know that this information should make me want to stay away from this girl, but it doesn't. If anything, it intrigues me even more. Suddenly I feel my head compress slightly and I know a vision is coming on. I break eye contact and look down at the table as my eyes cloud and a new world is open to me.

_The dark haired girl stands in front of me smiling. We're in the forest somewhere. She holds her hand out to me and I take it._

_We're sitting on a bed, books in our laps. We must be doing schoolwork or something, this might be her room, it's not familiar to me. We're laughing, laughing like best friends._

_We're on an empty beach, one I don't know. The sun beats down on us and my skin sparkles. The girl runs her fingers across my exposed belly with a small smile on her face and I smile back at the sky, content._

_We're running though the woods, a giant wolf at my side. The wolf is the color of her hair, it must be her. She looks up at me and I swear that wolf is smiling._

_Running again, a different forest, this time there are no smiles. Someone is chasing us, someone bad. I see the flash of a man and a flash of a woman with vibrant red hair. The wolf jumps in front of me and crouches down in a protective stance, letting out a threatening growl to the trees around us._

_The girl is on the ground in some kind of field. She looks like she's unconscious, she's covered in blood and it seems that she has no clothing on. A man with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail leans over her arm and bites down._

_The girl and I are in an empty room, she looks different. More pale, her eyes are darker with bruise like circles underneath them. They have a funny tint to them that wasn't there before. She doesn't look much older, but something is different. She smiles at me but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. Something has changed._

_We stand inches apart in a little meadow of sorts. The girl is taller than me, looking down into my eyes with a small smile on her face. I lean up and our lips meet._

I hear Edward let out a small gasp next to me and it pulls me from my vision. I hear the cafeteria door slam open and then shut before my eyes even clear all the way. The girl is gone, I can tell from how her scent has faded to almost nothing. She smells good, like sunshine and grass and the forest the surrounds this sleepy town. I feel like maybe my nose isn't working right because just this morning Rosalie was complaining about the wet dog smell she was forced to endure in math class. The girl doesn't smell like wet dog to me though, she smells like earth, like growth, like flowers blooming in spring. I glance over at Edward and he's regarding me with his usual serious expression. Right now it's mixed with concern and confusion and, not for the first time, I wish I could keep thoughts to myself.

"Alice, what was that?" he questions.

"I don't know, it was like as soon as we made eye contact all that came on. I don't see how she could decide on me so quickly, I mean our kind are natural enemies. I don't know what just happened." my voice sounds distant, I'm a little dazed.

"Well I don't know either." Edward sounds frustrated and I glance at him again. "I couldn't hear anything in her mind, it was a blank slate. I've never had that happen before. I think she's trouble."

I shoot him an annoyed look.

"Just because you can't hear her doesn't mean she's trouble. I think we're meant to be friends, best friends." I can't keep the wistful note out of my voice. I love my family and I love spending time with them but sometimes I wonder about what it'd be like to have a friend outside of them. I don't think I've ever had what you'd call a real friend. I might have before I was turned into a vampire but I don't really remember, I can't remember anything from my old life. I only know my name because it was written on the tag of the dress I was wearing when Carlisle found me and turned me. Mary Alice Brandon, but I decided I would be just Alice in this new life of mine. I liked the way it sounded. I wonder briefly what my name would sound like coming out of the shifters mouth and quickly try to stifle the thought when Edward glares at me again.

"We'll need to inform Carlisle about her. He should know." Edward tells me.

"I suppose so." I sigh and try to keep my aggravated thoughts to myself.

The rest of the day drags on and when the final bell rings I make it outside to the car in record time. Edward is driving today and since I'm the first to make it there I slide into the passenger seat and await my siblings. When we're all there Edward takes off, it takes all of five minutes to get home when you only drive 80 mph. We all make our way into the house where our adopted mother, Esme, stands waiting.

"Oh good you're all home, how was it today?" She asks while giving us each a hug at a time.

"Same as it has been for about fifty years now." Rose says with some disdain.

I don't think Rosalie enjoys the whole school over and over again thing at all. I know it's tedious and none of us exactly enjoys it but I think it drive Rose nuts. She wants to try out college next time we move homes, I think I might enjoy that as well. It would be a slightly new experience anyway.

" When will Carlisle be home?" Edward asks. "I think we need to have a small family meeting."

"What about?" Jasper asks curiously.

"The shifter." That's all he needs to say, we all know who he means.

"All I smell every morning is wet dog, it's ridiculous." Rose grumbles. "I thought they were all supposed to be on the reservation?"

"Since when do girls even shift?" Emmett questions.

It had been long standing knowledge that only males phased, ever since the beginning of their kind it had always been just the men. My future friend was different in many way apparently, she was special.

"It's a relatively new development." Carlisle's voice comes from behind us as he walks in the door. "Perhaps we should take this to the dining room, we can sit and discuss. I have a bit of knowledge about this girl, not much but a little."

We all make our way to the table which is mainly used for this very purpose. We only have the table for looks, we don't eat so we put the table to use for family meetings so it's not completely useless. Carlisle sits at the head with Esme to his right. I sit next to her with Jasper next to me. Rose, Emmett and Edward sit across from us.

"Now, I had a talk with the chief on the reservation. At the moment a Billy Black runs the show down there, with the pack leader being a man named Sam Uley. He informed me that they had a new shifter, a female by the name of Isabella Swan."

_Isabella Swan, even her name was pretty_. I focused my mind back on Carlisle.

"Billy says that Isabella is only half Quileute, that the amount she has in her DNA is so small they can't figure out why she phased. They assume it's because she's got Billy's blood in her, her father was his half brother. The girl won't leave her home which is why she's at Forks High with all of you. Billy says she's technically not part of the pack but he made it very clear that they will fight for her if needed, so I'd prefer if you all just stayed out of her way. We don't need any trouble when we just got here." He finishes.

"Don't worry about that, she stinks. We'd be crazy to go near her." Rosalie sniffs in disdain.

Edwards looks over to me and I know what's going to come out of his mouth. I will him not to say it, I shout it in my head, but it doesn't matter.

"Alice had a vision that her and the wolf will be friends. Close friends." He says in a clear voice.

I silently thank him in my mind for leaving out most of it, visions of being friends with a wolf is bad enough, never mind kissing her. He gives me a tiny, almost unnoticeable nod and looks at Carlisle, who regards me carefully.

"Why in the world would you want to be friends with her?" Rose demands.

I shrug my shoulders helplessly.

"I don't know! I just saw it. Our eyes met in the caf today after you guys left and then I saw it. I didn't even talk to her, she ran off right after." I try to explain. "I don't know why I saw it, all I know is I did."

Rose continues to glare at me while Carlisle looks at me curiously.

"You'll need to be very careful Alice. She's a new shifter, they can be unpredictable." Carlisle finally says.

I raise an eyebrow at him, is he telling me this is okay? Can I befriend this Isabella Swan? Can me and her be best friends, and maybe even more? I've never really thought about another girl like this before but there's something about her, something different. Something _special_.

"You can't be serious, you're condoning this?" Rosalie demands.

"It's Alice's life." Esme says gently. "She can do as she likes. It doesn't seem like this girl is any threat to us, and if it comes down to it that she is, we'll go from there."

"I suppose it couldn't hurt, maybe we could even learn some more about the shifters, we don't know much about them." Jasper reasons next to me.

I shoot him a grateful smile which be returns.

"I don't like it. I can't hear her. How will I know if there's trouble?" Edward grumbles.

"Alice can see her, she'll know." Carlisle tells him gently. "Besides, if Alice befriends her maybe we can figure out why you can't hear her."

Edward nod his acceptance though he doesn't look too happy about it. My heart swells and I can't keep the smile off my face, I can't wait to get to school tomorrow so I can try and speak to Isabella. Rosalie stands up abruptly, pulling me from my thoughts.

"You're all nuts. Why would we want that dog around? I'm going to hunt." She snarls and stalks away.

Emmett gives everyone a wary smile.

"I think it's a good idea, just don't tell Rosie that. I've always wanted to fight a wolf." He says with a cheeky grin.

With that, he turns and follows his girlfriend out the door.

"Well I guess it's decided then." Carlisle declares as he stands up. "Just be very careful Alice, wolves can be unpredictable."

I smile at him and walk quickly around the table to give him and Esme a hug.

"Thank you, I'll be careful." I promise.

Esme gives me a small smile and a kiss on the forehead.

"Your sister will get over it, you have to follow your heart sweetie."

For a moment I'm a bit thrown off, the way Esme spoke makes me wonder if she knows more than she's saying. Like she suspects there's more to all of this. I don't see how that's possible though, so I let the thought go and turn around.

"I'm going to hunt a bit, I won't go the same way as Rose and Em." I say with a smile.

"Be careful." Esme tells her with her own smile.

I nod and head out the door. I smell the path Rosalie took and head the opposite way. I don't want her killing my mood, tomorrow is gonna be a great day. I smile up at the sky and start running towards the mountains, the scent of deer filling my nostrils.

_Isabella Swan, ready or not, here comes your destiny_.

**_xxxx_**

**_AN: Okay guys as you can probably tell from this chapter I decided to change my writing style just a bit. All chapters have been updated so that they're in first person POV rather than third. I just find is easier to write in first person, I feel it conveys things better. Not sure why I didn't do it from the start, hope it doesn't throw anyone off._**

**_Thanks for the follows and favorites, I love you guys. I'm having a great time writing this story and I hope you enjoy reading it just as much. I got the chapter title from the song Visions by Dirty Heads. Pretty good song if ya'll wanna check that out lol. Until next time._**


	6. Gym Class Hero

**_Chapter 6_**

**_Gym Class Hero_**

**_Bella_**

I'm not really feeling up for school the next morning but I force myself up and out of bed anyway. I can't miss anymore classes or Jake will be right and I really won't graduate. I take a long hot shower, knowing I'm stalling but letting it happen anyway. I'm not worried about being a little late, just not showing up at all. I get dressed, throwing on some baggy jeans and an old t-shirt, I still don't wanna risk messing up my nicer stuff. My shoes unfortunately didn't survive my shift yesterday so I'm stuck wearing my gym shoes until I can drag myself to the store. I make my way down to the kitchen and pull a new bottle out. This is a bad new morning habit and I know it, but I need a little extra help until I can figure everything out. Liquid courage as they call it. I take a couple swigs, brush my teeth again, and head out the door. My stomach is in knots, worse than it has been since all of this started. _Everything is different now._ I know this to be true but I don't know why exactly. I know it has something to do with the tiniest Cullen, but I can't figure out why my wolf acted so weird when I saw her yesterday. She's pretty yeah, all bloodsuckers tend to be for some sick reason, she looks like an angel but she's not. She's a vampire, I'm a wolf, we're natural born enemies. She's a bloodsucker, she may be a "vegetarian" but that doesn't change who she is. It doesn't change what she's made for and what I'm made for. My wolf wants to rip her whole family apart, it's been trying to burst out of me for days, but it doesn't seem to want her. My wolf doesn't want to harm her, I don't want to harm her. _Why?_

When I pull up to the school I park quickly and make my way inside. I move fast enough that no one has a chance to try and speak to me, I'm not ready to be normal Bella yet. I make it into math class in time, though the bell rings as I'm walking through the door. I've got my eyes trained on the floor and, I won't lie, I'm not paying much attention to my surroundings. This is probably what leads me to walk straight into Rosalie's desk, although some might just call it destiny. My eyes shoot up and lock with hers, it crosses my mind once again that I'm lucky looks can't kill.

"Are you blind dog?" She hisses too low for the humans to hear.

I know I shouldn't say anything but I've never been one to hold my tongue and, I mean, she totally started it.

"Sorry Aphrodite, I must've been blinded by these damn florescent lights hitting that pale skin of yours." I shoot out with a smirk.

It's not exactly an insult but I'm sure she'll take it that way. There's nothing wrong with pale skin, especially on her, I mean the chick looks like she should be walking the runway right now. And the whole Aphrodite thing is definitely a compliment, but I don't know this blonde vampire well enough to know if she'll take it like that. She just stares at me, almost like she's at a loss for words, and I swear I see the edges of her lips curl up in the beginning of a smile before the teacher walks in and tells me to take a seat. I do as I'm told and plop down in the far back corner of the room, I'm shaking slightly but it's manageable. I pull a notebook out of my bag and doddle on it, the teachers words floating right over my head as she talks about sin and cosign and all sorts of stupid things I'll never need to know. I feel the blonde ones eyes drilling into me a few times but I don't look up, I don't think another one of her death stares is gonna help my wolf calm down. After about 45 minutes and 10 different stares though I do look up. When my eyes meet hers I'm pretty surprised to not find pure rage and hate there. She looks confused, like she's trying to figure me out but isn't getting too far. She looks away immediately and is out the door the second the bell rings.

Second period drags and in third I earn myself more curious stares from the Cullen clan. Jasper and Emmett give me about the same amount of sideways looks as Rosalie did and I'm getting kind of nervous. _Are they planning something? Are they gonna come after me?_ The looks don't seem malicious though, they merely look like they're trying to decode me, like I'm a puzzle they lost some of the pieces to. It makes me uncomfortable but I try my best to just ignore them. I won't let them think they scare me. I don't go to lunch, instead I slip off into the forest behind the school and shift. I run laps until I have to change back and go to fourth period. The run relaxes me some and it's pretty satisfying to feel the wind in my fur. I'm feeling a lot better as I enter my biology class and slide into my assigned seat. My peace is shattered pretty quickly when I smell a leech and look up to find the one called Edward walking towards my table. It occurs to me then that I'm the only one in this class without a partner, with the odd number in the room I scored a table to myself. It seems that wasn't meant to last. The tussle-haired vampire finishes his walk to me and pulls the seat out beside me. He seems tense, he keeps his eyes trained on the desk but I can feel him glancing at me from his peripherals. I'm shaking again, I haven't really been this close to any of them before and my wolf reacts the way I would expect, with pure rage. It's trying to claw out of me, trying to force a shift on me in this crowded high school classroom. I start up my chant; _in through the nose, out through the mouth. Breathe breathe breathe_. I'm trying my best to hold myself together when a soft voice drifts into my ears.

"Hello, I don't think we've met yet, I'm Edward Cullen."

His tone is gentle and it throws me off for a moment, I wasn't expecting anything but hate from him and his family. I was expecting another Rosalie, but that doesn't seem to be the way this is going.

"Yeah I've been out a sick a lot the last few weeks." I give a weak laugh. " I'm Bella, Bella Swan."

_Out sick, what a silly thing to say. He must know the truth, I know he can smell me just as well as I smell him. Out sick. Pathetic. _Though, in hindsight, the multiple forged doctors notes sitting in my school file would back up my words if they decided to snoop. I can't imagine there'd be any reason to, I think we can coexist, I've givwn them no indication that we can't.

"Pretty name." He says thoughtfully and I'm once again thrown off.

_What a confusing bunch._

"Thanks. How are you and your family liking it here? I believe I have a few of your other siblings in my other classes but we haven't had a chance to chat yet."

He gives a knowing smile and I know he picked up on my double meaning. He's the first to actually speak to me and I'm sure he knows it. I know what he is just as surely as he knows what I am, our kind don't typically mix unless it's a fight.

"Yes well we're a rather private kind of family."

I give a brief snort through my nose and he gives another knowing grin.

"It's nothing personal, just habit." He tells me.

"I understand, don't think I expected anything less." I give him a brief smile.

At that moment Mr. Banner walks in and the class is called to order. Edward doesn't speak again though I can feel his eyes on me a few times. He seems confused by me, much like the look he gave me that first day in the cafeteria. I'm not sure why exactly, there's not much to wonder, but I keep my own eyes trained on my notes and when the bell rings we part company without another word. I know I should go to English but even though bio wasn't horrible, my wolf is clawing to get out. I know all this skipping will probably bite me in the ass later, there's no doctors note that can cover that, but I'm too restless to really care too much at the moment. I head down into the gym locker rooms and stuff my backpack into my gym locker. I make my way out the back door and head off into the woods to spend my English period much like my lunch period; free. I run laps around the school as far as I can while still staying hidden in the trees. It's pretty easy, most of Forks is covered in dense woodland, the perfect place for someone like me in hindsight. Maybe the world had a reason for me to be raised here, maybe some force out there knew that someday I'd need all these trees. I don't dwell too much on it, just let my inner wolf take over. By time the bell rings I've made my way back to the locker room, just in time for gym class. I change quickly into my gym clothes and make my way out onto the floor. Coach Clapp nods to me and checks off my name on his list.

"Good to see you again Swan, start with some warm up laps."

I nod and make my way to the little track that runs around the gymnasium. There's other people already jogging, I see Jessica and Mike up ahead of me but I make no move to get closer to them. I'm enjoying my solitude, just focusing on my legs and my breathing, I'm in my element. My whole cool is thrown off when a strange mix of earth and bubblegum scent hits my nose. I stop in my tracks and my wolf screams to be let out so that it can hunt down the source of this intoxicating smell. My eyes zero in on the door leading out from the locker rooms as the tiniest Cullen walks out with the largest Cullen right behind her. I want to run to her, I want to stand beside her and ask her name. I want to bury my face in her hair and inhale that scent for the rest of my life, but I know I shouldn't. I shake my head hard in am attempt to clear it and turn around, back to my jog, back to reality. _God dammit Bella. A vampire. You want to talk to a **vampire**. Your natural enemy. What the fuck is wrong with you?_ I throw on a burst of speed, turn my jog to a full out run and I know I shouldn't be making a spectacle of myself like this but the harder I run, the easier it is to block out my thoughts. _I want to talk to her. God I want to talk to her. Run run **run**._ I focus in completely, I think of nothing but my feet hitting the ground, and I think I'm doing pretty well until all I can smell is grass and rain and bubblegum and I realize the tiny Cullen is running beside me.

"Hi I'm Alice." She's not in the least bit short of breath and for a moment it irks me as my air come out in pants.

"Bella." I say shortly.

In that moment my wolf hates me, and I kind of hate myself for being so unfriendly. I know this is what needs to be done though, so even as my heart sings, _Alice Alice Alice,_ I throw on another burst of speed to pull away from her. It doesn't work, as I should have expected, she keeps up with me easily.

"You know, if you're trying to appear as a normal teenager you should probably slow down." Her voice is music to my ears, _god I want to dance with the devil._

I take a glance around the room and see that she's probably right, everyone is watching us and it's not just because of her. Clumsy Bella Swan running faster than the entire class, why didn't I think of the attention that would bring? This tiny Cullen has made my brain mush and I've only spoken a single word to her. I slow my roll, and she slows with me while a smile plays across her pixie like face. A moment later the sickly sweet smell hits my nose and I find the biggest Cullen jogging on my other side. _Boxed in by vampires. What would Jake say? Pathetic._

"Hey there speed racer, names Emmett. Looks like my sister has taken an interest in you, I'm feeling the same. We definitely need to have a race sometime." His easy grin is hard to hate, he seems like someone I could get along with.

"Maybe some day, though I heard vampires tend to cheat." I say with a raised eyebrow.

He gives me a fake indignant look and throws his hands up to his chest.

"Me? Cheat? Never." He gives a booming laugh and I feel myself relax the tiniest bit.

"So I was thinking, do you maybe want to hang out sometime?" Alice's voice swirls around me and I'm finding it difficult to find my own voice.

"Uhh well like yah know uh…" My elegant response is cut short by Coach Clapps whistle.

He pairs us off into groups for badminton, I end up with Jessica on my team and Mike and Eric as our opponents. I sense Alice more than see her across the room on a team with Emmett. I can still smell her, her scent is stuck inside my nostrils and even though it doesn't burn like her sibling's scent, it's still driving my wolf insane. I want to run to her, stand next to her, hold her hand maybe. I know it's nuts but I can't control these feelings, it's like they're coming from deep within me. The flood gates have broken and I can't rein it back in. I feel Alice's eyes on me more than once and it leads me to show off a lot more than I had originally planned. Jess, Mike and Eric are pretty shocked by the sudden change in me, I can see it in their eyes when they congratulate me at the end of the match. Me and Jess won, 17 to 1, and I know Alice and Emmett saw 99% of it. I'm proud of myself, but I also know that I shouldn't have done all that, it's going to cause people to be suspicious but I think I can play it off. As I make my way to the locker room to change, I smell Alice coming towards me with Emmett on her heels.

"Solid game there wolfy, we'll have to play sometime." Emmett's booming laugh echoes around me as he heads into the boys locker room.

"He's right, you were quite the star out there Bella." Alice gives me a small smile and I feel my heart thudding out of my chest.

_What is wrong with me?_

"Thanks." It comes out gruffer than I expected but Alice takes it in stride.

"You never answered about hanging out." She says.

We're in the locker room now, conveniently hers is right next to mine. I wonder briefly if she did that on purpose, but I don't see why she'd be that interested in me, I'm nothing special. _Not like her._ I open my mouth to answer her question but clamp it back shut just as quickly when she pulls her shirt over her head. Alice Cullen is standing in front of me with no shirt on and, as I gape at her, she pulls her shorts down too. I try to form words but my mouth just hangs open stupidly while she looks at me with a twinkle in her eye. She looks like she's trying not to laugh and I can feel my cheeks burning but _good god she is **gorgeous**. _

"See something you like Bella?"

I can hear the smile in her voice and I force myself to turn around, back to my own locker. I clear my throat rather loudly and try to piece my thoughts together while quickly changing. _What were we talking about? What did she ask me? Hang out? Do I want to hang out? God I want to do _**_everything_**_ to her. With her. To her?_

"Uh yeah we can hang." I try to make my voice casual but it's definitely a couple octaves too high.

"Great! Let me get your number, we can text and figure it out." She sounds so excited I can't do anything except pull my phone out and allow her to punch her number in.

She sends a message to herself off of my phone to get the number and then, seemingly satisfied, she hands my phone back.

"I'll be seeing you soon Bells, this was fun."

With that she twirls around and leaves me standing there dumbfounded. _What a curious, wonderful, gorgeous creature. What have I gotten myself into?_

That night I spend a long time out in the woods behind my house, just running. The running centers me, helps me keep my racing thoughts in order. When you're in wolf form there's no need to think too much, you can drop into the mind of the animal and let it run the show. The wolf always knows where to go, what to do, and how to be. It's pretty wonderful, the most pure form of freedom I've ever experienced. When I get home I'm exhausted and I fall into bed fully clothed. When I sleep, I dream of Alice, but by time the morning sun drags me awake I can't remember exactly what I dreamt. I'm not too worried about it, I'm more concerned with another day of dodging vampires.

In first period Rosalie only gives me a brief glance when I walk in, I can't help but be a smartass and wink at her. To my utter shock, she winks back, and when I fall over a desk because I'm not paying attention, she gives a small laugh that is _almost_ as musical as Alice's. Almost but not quite. I don't look up for the entire class once I get to my seat, but I feel Rosalie's eyes on me more than once. In third period Emmett greets me with a grin and a high five that would've shattered a normal persons hand. Jasper looks bewildered, like no one let him in on the joke and I must say I feel pretty much the same. I shift and run at lunch again to prepare for the rest of the day. When I get to bio Edward is already seated.

" Hello Bella." He always sounds so formal.

"How's it goin' Edward."

"My sister says you two chatted yesterday?" He's got this knowing smile that I can't quite figure out.

"Oh yeah we have gym together." I say offhandedly.

"She's quite taken with you."

Before I can ask what he means the class is called to attention and he's out the door the moment the bell rings. _Damn cryptic pain in the ass bloodsuckers._ I'm feeling a little annoyed but still, I make my way to English and slip into my customary back row seat. I lay my head down on my desk and close my eyes for a moment. Edward's words keep playing over in my head; _she's quite taken with you. Quite taken with you. Quite taken with **you**_. What does he mean? Like she wants to be friends? Or does she have these same weird feelings that I do? Is that possible? My thoughts are interrupted by the oh so familiar smell of earth. My head shoots up off the desk just in time to see Alice walking down the aisle towards me.

"I didn't know you were in this class Bella!" She says as she sits at the desk next to mine.

"I've missed a few classes." I say weakly.

My wolf is howling inside me again, I want to move closer to her. At the same time I want to jump out the window next to me and just run. Run for miles and miles, days and days, anything to get me away from all this confusion. I know that I wouldn't run from her like that, it would hurt even thought it shouldn't. I shouldn't feel anything by leaving this vampire that I barely know but I know for a fact that it would hurt. _I'm losing it. Fucking losing it._

"Aren't those your gym shoes?" Alice's voice brings me back to reality.

I glance down at the raggy running shoes on my feet and grimace.

"Yeah well my regular shoes got…ruined and I haven't had a chance to get up to the stores yet so…" my voice trails off as I watch her smile widen to impossibly lengths.

"We can go shopping Bella! When we hang out! We could do it this weekend!" Her excitement is evident in her voice and I wonder briefly if I should be worried.

"Uh yeah we…we could do that." I manage to mumble out.

My tongue feels too big for my mouth and I can feel myself blushing but Alice just keeps on smiling.

"Great! We can figure out the details later, I'll text you tonight."

"Sounds like a plan." I tell her.

_God that smile is breathtaking. She's breathtaking._ At that moment the teacher walks on and begins the lesson. We're reading _Lord of the Flies_ which is a personal favorite of mine but I can barely pay attention. I feel Alice look over at me more than once and every time she does I feel my stomach flip. My heart is thudding so loud in my ears I can barely hear anything else. _This girl is driving me insane._ When the bell rings I pack my things away slowly but Alice stands and waits for me. It makes me happy, even though it shouldn't.

"Want to walk to gym together?" She asks as we make our way to the door.

I want to say yes, the word is already on my tongue but my wolf is restless and I'm thinking it's best if I just leave.

"I'm uh actually not feeling too well, think I'm gonna head home." I tell her.

She looks so disappointed I almost change my mind right then and there. This girl could ask me to walk through flames with my bare feet and I think I would happily do it just so I never have to see that look on her beautiful face again.

"Fine I guess, I'll be texting you tonight to talk about our date though, you'd better answer. Feel better Bells!"

She turns and heads down the hallway, leaving me staring after her with my mouth hanging open. _Our date, she said our date. Did she mean it like date date? Or like friend date? Does it matter?_ I shake my head roughly, trying once again to clear it and make my way to the parking lot. _Date. Our date._ I really like the sound of that, but I know I shouldn't read into it too much. A vampire wouldn't want to date a wolf and I shouldn't want to date her either. What would the pack say? What would Jacob say? It would be a betrayal, it would be a crime against nature. But friend date? That's fine right? Can vampires and wolves just be friends? Are there rules for this kind of thing? My head is spinning by time I make it home and I only throw my backpack inside before I head out to the forest and shift. I run as fast as I can and let the trees close in around me. I run until Bella vanishes and the wolf takes her place.

**_xxxx_**

**AN: Hey guys sorry for the late update, things have been a bit hectic. Finally have some Alice/Bella interactions, and I have a pretty solid idea of where I'm going with all this. Should be some action in the next chapter, see you all then.**

**Thatdamnyank: All your reviews made me smile, thank you so much.**

**And to everyone else who reviewed or followed, I'm so glad you guys actually like this, I'm super excited to get back into fanfiction and you all make it so much better, thank you**


	7. Gravity Moves

**_Chapter 7_**

**_Gravity Moves_**

**_Bella_**

I wake up the next morning with a pounding headache and curse myself for the bottle I took down after I got home last night. It seems to take more and more liquor these days to give me even the tiniest buzz and it's resulted in my drinking reaching a brand new level. An entire bottle of whiskey gone in a single night, it's a sure fire way to alchol poisoning without a doubt, and I know this isn't something I can keep doing. I don't know what it is, maybe the wolf in me, but I'm definitely going to need to work out a new coping skill, one that doesn't take such a toll on me. Running has been a nice release recently, in my wolf form of course, maybe I need to look more into that. Regardless, I roll myself out of bed and start to get ready for the day, beginning with a steaming hot shower. I dress quickly and head out the door, rather proud of myself that I don't take my customary shots to start the day. The feeling doesn't last long though, as I get closer to the school and my stomach starts to twist I wish I had taken a drink or two, just to get me through the school day. I don't know what it is about school these days but it makes me nervous. Well, that' s a lie, I do know, and the whole reason is a tiny little pixie bloodsucker who I should never have interacted with in the first place. What would Jake say? Maybe I should find out? But is it really that big of a deal if I happen to have a conversation with a vampire? Does it really matter if I hang out with her? It doesn't have to be a huge thing, one little shopping trip for a pair of shoes and then I'm under no obligation to chill with her again. That all seems pretty harmless to me, but I resolve to shoot Jacob a text after school, we can go for a run and I can carefully bring up the tiny little vampire that had been consuming my thoughts so thoroughly. Maybe he'll have some advice, Jacob is quite the ladies man down on the rez, maybe he'll have some insight to all this.

When I pull into my normal spot it takes me a moment to will myself out of the car. I'm nervous, more than I've ever been, and I can't really pinpoint why. I mean in reality all the hard parts of this are over, I've spoken to the pixie and two of her brothers, I even almost got a smile out of her sister. The Cullen's don't seem like a threat, they seem to just want to live peacefully along with everyone else. Does it really matter what they are if they strive to be better than that? I take a deep breath and get out of my truck. Before I even close the door bebind me the smell of bubblegum wraps around me and Alice Cullen pops up at my side.

"Morning Bella! Missed you in gym yesterday, Emmett too, he's excited to see what other sports you excel at so he can convince you to play against him. He's rather competitive." Alice gives a tinkering laugh that makes my heart sing.

"Well I suppose we'll see what kind of magic I can pull off today. I'm quite the magician you know." I try to sound confident but my stomach is still in knots and my heart is beating so loud I'm certain she can hear it.

"Maybe you can show me a trick or two sometime? A non sports trick." Alice has a suggestive grin on her face and my heart tries to escape my chest.

She laughs once more and loops her arm though mine to the shock of myself and the sixty pairs of eyes focused on us around the parking lot. I'm not sure what to make of this tiny pixie but I know that I don't have the willpower to pull my arm away. Her skin is cold, it melds instantly with the heat of my own body and it just feels so god damn right so I tell myself to just go with it. Go with the flow, don't even think about it, and our walk to the building is going perfectly smoothly until I spot Rosalie making her way towards us with what could be described as murder in her eyes.

"Alice what are you doing?" Rosalie hisses as she reaches us.

I attempt to move my arm away from Alice but she instantly locks her hand around my wrist, preventing any escape unless I want to hurt her. My wolf is alive and growling deep inside of me, I can feel the vibrations floating through me and try my best to just remain focused. I can't shift here, it would be disastrous, and it doesn't seem like the blonde is angry with me exactly, her gaze of fire is fixed firmly on Alice. That thought seems to irritate my wolf more though, I feel a strange urge to stand between my tiny new friend and this angry blonde even though I know that would be a bad idea. I hold myself very still, focusing on a point beyond Rosalie's head and try to keep my cool as I listen to their hissed conversation.

"We're friends now Rose, just like I told you would happen." Alice has an air of triumph about her while I try to decode the whole "told you so" aspect.

"The entire school is staring Alice, do you know how much attention this is drawing?"

"I think we'd have attention whether I spoke to Bella or not."

"This is a dangerous game you're playing Alice, I mean come on now she's a new wolf! Her self control can't be all that great, look at her she's shaking like a leaf. She's probably ready to rip your head off right at this very moment!"

"I wouldn't hurt Alice." They seem surprised to hear me speak. "You either."

Rosalie just rolls her eyes and stalks off the the English building as Alice giggles beside her.

"Sorry Bella, my sister can be...a bit much sometimes." Alice smiles lightly.

"Well I would imagine, looking like she does, it's all part of the game. The gorgeous ones are always destined to be bitchy I suppose." I say slowly, my eyes still on Rosalie's retreating back.

I look back down at Alice to see a small frown tugging at the corners of her lips.

"What's wrong?" I ask quickly, wondering which part of my statement she didn't like.

"Well I'm not all that bitchy but I thought I was pretty good looking, does that mean I'm not?"

I study her face and try to decide if she's serious or just messing with me. *God I wish I'd had a drink this morning.*

"Obviously you're gorgeous, I suppose you got lucky and the bitch gene skipped you." I shoot out in a bit of a rush.

Alice laughs and wraps her arms around me, a brief hug that sends my already pounding heart skyrocketing. It's quick and I wasn't expecting it and when she twirls away and skips off to the other side of the campus I'm left standing there with my mouth hang open once again. I stand there for a few moments and try to decide what I'm going to do. Heading to Math with a pissed of vampire doesn't seem like something I can deal with this early, but I know I can't just skip. A solution slips into my mind and with a determined set to my face I take off to the nurses office. When I walk in it's empty other than me and I put on my best sick face.

"Oh hello, Miss Swan is it?" The nurse gives me a warm smile that I attempt to return.

"Yes ma'am, I'm just not feeling too well, I think I might have some kind of stomach bug.

She frowns at me and stands up, placing her hand on my forehead. Her eyes widen and I try my hardest not to smirk. This wolf heat comes in awfully handy.

"Well it definitely feels like you've got a fever. Did you drive yourself dear? I think you should get home and rest, better safe than sorry."

For a moment I feel bad for deceiving her, she's just a little old lady trying to keep all us asshole kids alive, but the moment passes as my wolf all but begs to leave this place. I can still smell Rosalie and Alice, both their scents seem to be stuck in my nostrils and it's a bit unnerving.

"I'll just need to call your parent or guardian first, policy and all that." The women gives me a soft smile. "Your uncle takes care of you, correct?"

I give a brief nod and take a seat as she turns to a large metal cabinet to locate my file. She pulls out a manila folder that I can see has _Isabella Swan_ printed across it. She shuffles the papers around a bit until she comes across what she's looking for and as she types the number into the phone she gives me another brief smile.

"Hello yes I'm Mrs. Dawson, the nurse at the high school. I have a Bella Swan here saying she doesn't feel well and judging by her skin she's got a fever. I'm going to send her home if that's fine with you? Yes? Wonderful. Of course." She pulls the phone from her ear and passes it to me. "He says he'd like to speak with you for a moment."

I force a smile and take the phone from her.

"Hey Uncle Billy, sorry for the bother I'm just really not feeling great, that problem I've been dealing with might be getting worse." I try to keep my tone light while praying he picks up on my double meaning.

"Not a problem Bella, as a matter of fact Jacob seems to have come down with something himself. He's home for the day, why don't you head our way, you two can recover together." Billy's tone is also light but there's an underlying tension to it that I can't place.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll be there in 20." I don't wait for a response before handing back the phone. "Thank you for your help Mrs. Dawson, I appreciate it."

"Of course of course, now on your way you go. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids and try to get some sleep, rest is the best medicine." She says with a small laugh.

I smile back and make my way out of the room and to my truck. I know I'm probably walking into a shit show, Billy will want to know why I keep missing so much school, but I'm kind of glad they I can have my conversation with Jake sooner rather than later. The ride to the reservation doesn't take long and as I park in front of the house Jacob comes looping outside with a grin on his face.

"Long time no see Bells."

"Yeah things have been a little crazy." I give him a brief grin. "But I'm here now and, honestly, you don't look all that sick to me."

He gives a booming laugh that I can't help but to join in on. Everything's always so easy with Jacob, he's like the brother I never had, I'm not sure why I waited so long to get back down here. Well, I do know, because I've been so preoccupied with the Cullen family Jake has fallen to the wayside a bit but I resolve to not let that happen again.

"Do you want to go for a run?" He asks and I hesitate a moment before answering.

Do I want to go for a run? Because once we shift Jacob will see my mind, he'll see the littlest bloodsucker taking up 98% of my thoughts and then what will he think? But it would probably be easier to just let him see than to explain the mess that is my mind recently. Besides, we're family, I don't think he'll be thrilled with my choice in new friends but I don't think he would abandon me over it. He might try to talk some sense into me but there isn't anything he could say that I haven't already told myself.

"Sure, let's go."

We take off at a brisk walk, opting to change once we reach the forest. Jacob fills me in on what he's been up to and I try my best to pay attention even though my mind keeps drifting back to Alice. Why was Rosalie so angry at her earlier? I mean obviously vampires and wolves don't get along but if we don't mean eachother any harm then what's the risk? I know she mentioned me being a new shifter and dangerous but I haven't really had those issues yet, not like everyone describes. I've been relatively level headed, I haven't force shifted once since the first time. I'm in control, at least I feel like I am, so why does it seem like the Cullen's don't feel the same? I glance over at Jacob as he finishes a story about his friends Quil and Embry force shifting in the middle of someone's kitchen because of a fight over who was getting the last burger.

"So they spent maybe a week having to clean everything up. They even had to buy Emily a new table. Sam was furious, he's still got them running the night shift by themselves." He gives a quick laugh. "But that's enough about me, what have you been up to Bells? Why'd you leave early, are the leeches giving you any trouble?"

I pause for a moment before I answer him, thinking the question through. Maybe I should start to brooch the topic now and then finish it when we shift. Give him some warning of the storm inside my brain, soften the blow a little.

"Not all that much to be honest. They haven't given me any trouble though a couple of them seem to show some kind of interest in me. There's a tiny one, she seems to think we're meant to be friends." I say carefully.

"Friends? With bloodsuckers? Now that's a good one." Jacob let's out another booming laugh that briefly reminds me of Emmett, if circumstances were different the two of them would probably get along well.

"They aren't too bad." I say softly. "I've only spoken to three of them but they seem harmless enough."

Jake let's out a soft growl and I start to lose my resolve, maybe I should keep this all too myself.

"They aren't harmless Bella. They're monsters. Murderers even. They suck people's blood for christ sake." His voice is harsh and I feel the light flames of anger begin to burst in my belly.

"The Cullen's hunt animal's Jacob, they don't bother humans."

He scofts and stops walking. We've reached an open clearing, deep enough into the forest for the only sounds around to be the gentle sighs of the wind through the trees.

"This spot is pretty good." Jacob says as he turns to me. "I'll look this way, you can change over there. Just stuff your clothes under one of these bushes."

I nod to him and turn to the edge of the clearing. I slowly begin to strip as my stomach churns. I have a feeling this isn't going to end nearly as well as I hoped. Maybe being disowned really is in my future. I let out a light sigh and stuff my bundle of clothing under a rather scraggly bush. I hear Jacob shuffling around behind me and moments later I hear the change in his footsteps as he shifts. With a deep breath I do the same.

The effect is instant, as my paws hit the earth Jacob's thoughts desende into my brain and it's only moments before I see him recoil from me.

_Bella what have you done?_

The voice in my head sounds pained and I try my best to expel the lingering thoughts of Alice from my brain.

_That won't work. Don't you understand?_

_Clearly I don't Jacob_.

I'm getting annoyed and it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what his issue is. I search his mind, trying to understand the racing stream that are his thoughts.

_A vampire. It's impossible. It's never happened before. Though neither has a girl wolf before Leah. The Cullen's. Bloodsuckers. Imprinted on a leech. How is this even possible?_

_Imprinted?_

I'm not sure of the word but it rings a faint bell in the back of my head. Imprint. I know he hears my question, but he doesn't even look at me, just continues the train of thoughts in his head.

_This is bad. Real bad. I need to talk to Sam. He needs to know. He needs to tell the elders. I need to tell my dad. Someone will fix this, someone will know how this is possible._

_Jacob_.

I send his name forcefully, hoping to get through to him. When he looks up at me there's such distress in his eyes I take a brief step back.

_What's going on Jacob?_

_You imprinted Bella. You imprinted on that tiny leech._

My stomach churns with rough anger at the disgust he puts into the word leech.

_You don't need to call her that. She has a name. And I don't understand. What's imprinting?_

Jacob let's out a frustrated growl and plops himself down in the dirt. It seems our run has been canceled but I'm more concerned with getting an answer to my questions.

_It's a wolf thing Bella. Kinda like humans and the concept of soulmates except it's so much more. When a wolf imprints that's it, they're bound to that person for the rest of their lives at whatever capacity the imprint allows. You could be their friend, their protector, their lover, however they'll have you. It's like gravity changes and it's not the earth holding you here anymore, it's them. It's neverending devotion to them, you'll never meet another soul on this earth you love more than them. It's what happened with Sam and Emily, it's why he had to leave Leah. Once you imprint there's no going back, the pull is too strong. You're forever-_

_Stop_.

I shoot the word at him firmly as I feel my body shaking. I can't hear anymore of this, it can't be true. Neverending devotion? Love? Forever? This isn't how I expected this conversation to go, there's no way this is true.

_There must be a mistake._

_It's no mistake Bella, I can see it in your mind. A wolf knows when another in their pack has imprinted, our most important law is that the pack may never harm the object of another wolves imprint. It would destroy them_.

I stay still for another moment before I turn tail and take off into the forest. This is too much. I can't handle all this. Imprinted. Imprinted on Alice Cullen, a vampire. The female thing doesn't bother me so much, I'd always felt more drawn to girls in the romantic sense so that isn't really a surpires but really, a soul mate bond connection with someone I've only spoken to once? This is insane. I run as fast as my legs will allow, like I think I can outrun my own mind. Jacob is crashing through the woods behind me, calling for me to stop but I can't. I have no destination, I just know I need to run. At some point I stop and collapse to the ground panting, Jacob lands beside me and for a long moment we say nothing.

_I know this is crazy Bella, trust me I'm blown away too, but it isn't something you can run from_.

I let out a low growl almost as if to say, watch me. But I don't get up, I stay on the ground and try to clear my head. I push all thoughts of Alice and her family to the back of my mind. I banish it all to the dark and throw away the key. I refuse to accept this, it's insane.

_We need to go back Bella, Sam needs to be made aware of this. He'll need to tell the elders. This might change everything._

The last thought echoes so quietly in his mind I wonder if he meant for me to hear it. I don't have much time to think on it when a deep howl sounds through the quiet air. Jacob is on his feet in a second, ear cocked forward and body stiff. I push myself up beside him and watch him, waiting to see what's happening.

_That's Sam, there's vampires on our land. We need to get over there._

Without another word Jacob takes off running and I follow close behind. It's not long before we pick up a scent, a harsh sickly sweet scent that sends the fur along my spine prickling.

_That's it, it's not too old of a scent, let's follow._

Jacob and I take off again, our noses presses close to the ground to follow the scent of the rouge vampires. I know it's not the Cullen's, this scent is different from there's, more wild more dangerous. We run for a long time and at some point Leah's white pelt comes crashing towards us and, with a brief nod, she joins our hunt. We follow the trail until we reach a deadend, at the top of a cliff high above the crashing ocean the scent disappears.

_Must have jumped, _Jacob growls. _Come on, let's report back to Sam._

We head back with a brief stop to grab our clothing in our teeth. Jacob says we can shift back when we get closer, there's no time to waste her. When we get back to the reservation things seem much more chaotic than they did when we'd left. People seem frantic, worried about this threat that seems to have come from nowhere and vanished just as quickly. We shift in the treeline and make out way towards a group of guys standing in a loose circle talking to Billy and a man I recognize as Leah's father, Harry Clearwater. Out if the corner of my eye I see Leah head off towards her house where Seth stands outside watching anxiously.

"Jacob, Bella." Sam greets us as Harry and Billy both nod in our direction. "Did you find anything?"

"We followed the scent until it dropped off the cliffs, hopefully they'll keep going North and stay away from here. Do we know who they are?" Jacob gives his report so formly I forgot for the moment that he's only 16.

"No," Sam shakes his head. "They're rogues as far as we can tell, they aren't Cullen's, the scent is differnt. These are human hunters."

"There's been a few disappearances recently in the area, we think it's connected." Harry says gravely.

"I have a meeting planned with the leader of the Cullen's, we'll see if they know these leeches." Sam says with a hard glint in his eyes.

Jacob glances over at me but I keep my eyes on the ground. I know what's about to come and I will him to leave it for now but the gods don't seem to want to give me a break.

"Theres something important I think we should discuss quickly while I have you all here." Jacob begins. "It's about Bella."

Four sets of eyes fall on me and I hope Jacob can see in my eyes that I'm not all that happy with him but he just gives me a grimace and pushes on.

"She imprinted."

"On who?" Billy asks surprised.

"A Cullen. The small one." Jacob says slowly.

My face burns as eveyone's eyes widen. I glance across the way to see evem Leah and Seth staring in shock. My stomach rolls and I curse Jacob's name to the sky.

"A Cullen? She imprinted on a bloodsucker?" Harry's voice sounds strained.

"This has never happened before." Billy sounds nervous, which in turn makes me more nervous than I already was. "Bella when did this happen?"

"The first day they came to the school." i respond softly. "I saw her in the cafeteria and then...then all of the sudden I couldn't forget her." My voice falls to a whisper at the end.

Everyone is quiet for a moment and then Billy clears his throat.

"Well this may change things, but only if the Cullen's step out of line. We can't hurt someone that's been imprinted upon by one of our people. You may not be offically in the pack but we still consider you one of us, no one will be able to harm her. The only way thia becomes an issue is if she harms a human, so I think we should...let it be for the time being. We need to focus on the intruders."

I give Billy a grateful look and he smiles back at me. Sam doesn't look as convinced but he just shakes his head and looks back to Jacob.

"I want you to join a patrol, Paul and Quil are down in the forest, go find them." He says briefly before turning to me. "Bella we won't make you run shifts down here but if you could keep an eye out in town that would be ideal."

"Of course." I nod. "I'm going to head back home, keep me updated."

"You do the same, stay safe Bella." Sam gives me a brief smile before taking off.

"Keep in touch Bells, I'm always around if you need me." Jacob gives me a quick hug and takes off towards the woods after a quick nod to Billy and Harry.

I say my goodbyes and head towards the treeline. Once I'm out of sight I strip and shift, grabbing my clothing in my teeth and racing home. I'm worried even though I didn't voice my concerns to everyone else. I don't really like the idea of this imprint thing, I mean do I really get no choice in the matter? And a vampire for christsake? Could the universe have pulled a bigger joke on me? When I finally make it to my backyard I drop my clothing bundle on my back porch and start my run. I won't rest easy until I know the people around me are safe.

The sun has set by time I start my rounds so it's easy enough to navigate my way through town unnoticed, though I mainly stick to the shadows of the trees anyway. I find no trace of the rouges but I keep on running, I don't feel calm enough to just go home and sleep. As I trot through a particularly desolt area of the forest a scent reaches my nose that makes me freeze in place; _Alice. _I take off before my mind has even caught up with my nose and it's not long before the rough scent of deer blood hits me. I come out into a clearing to see my latest obsession with her mouth to the neck of a young buck, his body still warm juding by the steam rising into the air around them. I watch silently, fasinated by the display. I know in reality I should be disgusted but dear god the way the moonlight falls on her, it's like she's a goddess straight from heaven. A goddess I will gladly spend eternity following.

It's not long before she finishes and heads off in the opposite direction of me. I stand there for a long while, just gazing off in the direction sbe took off. I don't agree with this whole imprint thing but I also don't think I can deny it. There's just something special about the tiniest Cullen and I'd be insane not to pursue her, but at the same time I can't shake off the feeling that it isn't right. That Jacob and the rest of the pack won't agree, that people might think differently of me if they find out what I really desire. But at the end of the day all that really matters is that I'm happy, or at least that's what Charlie used to tell me when I was upset. It only matters that I'm happy.

The next day I'm exhausted but I still drag myself to school. I can't keep pulling the disappearing act or I'm gonna end up in trouble for truancy, which is something I definitely don't have time for. I sleep through most of my morning classes, though I can't avoid the death glares Rosalie shoots me in first period and the massive highfive Emmett gives me in third. At lunch I have a run and by time biology rolls around I'm slightly more awake.

"Trouble sleeping partner?" There's some concerm in Edwards voice as he gazes at me when I take my seat.

"Late night." I say briefly, not sure if I should spread the business of the wolves.

We don't speak again and when the beml rings he just gives me a brief nod before leaving the room.

I take my seat in English and try to prepare myself but none of it matters when Alice walks into the room. There's no preparing for something like this, she's just too much. She smiles at me and my heart leaps into unstant overdrive as she takes the seat next to mine.

"Nice to see you today Bella." She says with an easy grin.

I can't help but smile back.

"You look tired, are you alright?"

My stomach clenches at the concern in her eyes. _God why is this perfect creature worried about me for?_ I force a smile as my heart beats into overdrive and I pray to the gods above that she can't hear it.

"Oh yeah just a late night." I stumble the words out and hope she doesn't notice how nervous I am.

"Oh I see okay...well I was wondering if we were still down for our shopping date this weekend?" She gives me a grin so wide it's a wonder it doesn't split her face right open. "I was thinking maybe tomorrow? I could pick you up in the morning."

I stare at her for a long moment trying to piece together some semblance of a sentence while she just keeps on smiling at me. _Fuck who could possibly say no to that smile?_

"I uh yeah...yeah that works yeah morning yeah." I feel the blush creep up my cheeks as I stutter out the words.

"Great! I'll be by at 9!"

Before I can answer the teacher walks in and calls the class to attention. I stare up at the front of the room but my mind is completely somewhere else. _Date she said. Shopping date. Date_. I can't keep the stupid grin off my face as the class drags on. The bell finally rings and I follow Alice to last period as she chats on about the next day. I try my best to listen but all I can really focus on is her lips and how soft I bet they'd be under my own. I float through gym class without letting my attention fall from Alice which results in a couple dodgeballs to the face and Alice and Emmett laughing at me. It doesn't bother me though, she laughs like music, I could listen all day, and even when I get sent to the nurse with a nosebleed after a ball nails me in the face I'm still smiling. How could I not? She said **_date._**

**_*_**

**_A/N: I don't really like this chapter but I feel terrible for not updating sooner so here we are. Slowburn, sorry, life is hectic, think it'll be am Alice POV chapter next, love you all, be easy._**


	8. Drifting By On Cloud Nine

**_Chapter 8_**

**_Drifting By On Cloud Nine_**

**_Bella_**

_I'm just saying, it's a little strange to think about Bells, I mean she's not even alive technically._

I roll my eyes at Jacob the best I can in my wolf form but I'm not too sure he sees it in the dark. We're on the border of the reservation and Forks, the treaty line as the pack calls it. Leah is sitting to the right of me while Jake sits to the left, his head craned in my direction. I let out a huff and lay down with my head on my paws.

_It's not weird Jacob, it feels...right_.

He lets out a snort that is so human-like I can't help but let out my own. What a strange life I lead, discussing my crush on a vampire with my cousin while we're both giant dogs, you can't make this shit up. I push myself back to my feet and give myself a rough shake to settle my disheveled fur.

_Yah know, we're going on a date tomorrow._

_A date date?_

I growl lightly at his response and take off at a quick trot down the border line. He follows, with Leah close behind and I try my best to pay attention to the scents around me even though Jacob's words are rebounding in my head. I just don't understand why there had to be so much surprise in his tone.

_It's not a date date. We're going shopping, my shoes didn't survive a shift and she likes to shop so we're going together. She called it a shopping date though, that's kinda like a date._

_If you say so Bells._

We continue our run around the treaty line, eyes peeled for anything out of place. The rez has been pretty nervous since the rogue leech scent was first found, I volunteered to run a few patrols with Jake, just to help out. We've been out here for a few hours now but not much has happened, we haven't picked up anything out of the ordinary, so hopefully whoever it was just moved on. The patrols will run until the pack is positive the threat has passed though, Sam says you can never be too careful with bloodsuckers.

_Bells we're passing close to your house, if you want to head back, I suppose it would be okay, to get rest for your weird date or whatever._

Who knew it was possible to send awkward in a thought? I let out a huff of amusement and butt my head lightly against Jacob's side.

_Thank you cousin, I'll be in touch._

_Good luck Bella._

I give a brief nod and take off back to my side of the line. It's a short run, maybe 10 minutes, and then I'm slipping into my backyard as stealthily as possible. I left myself a pair of shorts and a t-shirt in the trees on my property line that I slip into quickly before making my way to the back door. I'm pretty exhausted but I know my mind isn't going to rest enough for sleep without a little help so I dig a fresh bottle of whiskey out of the freezer. It takes three-quarters of the bottle for me to feel anything and I know I'm definitely on my way to alcohol poisoning. This habit needs to stop, but that feels like an issue for another day so I drop the bottle on the table and make my way up the stairs. I'm feeling a little messy after all that time running in the woods so I take a quick shower before slipping into bed. I'm asleep seconds after hitting the pillow.

I squint my eyes open the next morning as the sun streams in through the window. It's still early, only 7:30, but I can't stay in bed any longer. I'm excited but also nervous at the prospect of spending my day with Alice. It's not like I know her all that well yet, what if we don't have enough to talk about? What if she decides that I'm not really as interesting as she seems to think? What if I say something stupid? I groan to myself and pull my pillow over my eyes. Who knew a shopping day could be so nerve racking? Why does this girl make me feel so weird?

Some time later I drag myself out of bed and into the shower, even though it's unnecessary a good shower always makes me feel good. I get dressed quickly in a casual outfit of skinny jeans and a band tee. I make my way down to the kitchen and make myself a bowl of cereal, though I'm too nervous to really eat it and end up dumping half of it down the drain. A few minutes before nine I make my way outside, locking the door behind me and taking a seat on my front steps. Only a few minutes later a car whips into the driveway, a majestic yellow sports car that looks like a Porsche but I can't be certain. I can't help the grin that flies across my face as Alice waves at me out the drivers side window.

"Good morning Bella! Hop in." She's all smiles and my stomach starts doing jumping jacks as I make my way over to her.

"Damn Alice this thing is a beauty." I say with awe in my voice as I slide into the passenger side.

"Oh this old thing? She's my baby, Rosalie keeps her running like a dream." Alice laughs and my heart starts doing a dance in my chest that I pray isn't as audible for her as it is for me.

"The blonde goddess works on cars?" I question. "Huh, who woulda thought."

"Goddess huh? I see you think pretty highly of my sister." Alice's laugh isn't as large this time and I glance over to see a small frown on her face as she focuses on the road in front of her.

"Well it's just an observation, she's pretty...well she's pretty hot Alice, not to be weird or anything, just a fact." I tell her carefully. "You on the other hand are also hot, but not in that model perfect-bitchy way, you're hot in a way that's not too common these days, both in looks and soul. I personally think good looks and a good personality make someone way more attractive than just the looks, yah know?" I know that I'm rambling but it's hard to stop myself when her smile has grown with every word and _goddamn _how can a smile be as bright as the sun?

"Well I'm glad to know you think so highly of me Bella. I think you're pretty hot myself." She says with yet another laugh and all of the sudden my tongue feels too big for my mouth and I can only let a strangled giggle in return which makes her laugh even harder.

"So what are your other siblings like." I ask after I get myself together. "I've spoken with Edward in class a bit and of course Emmett in gym but I've never had a conversation with Jasper before. What's it like having so many siblings?"

"Well it's interesting for sure." She says in a thoughtful tone. "Emmett's a beast, as I'm sure you've noticed, he spends most of his time messing with Edward and Jasper. Jasper is pretty reserved, he's the newest to our diet so sometimes it's hard for him, especially at school. Edward's...a little harder to pin down, he's been with Carlisle, our adopted dad, for the longest so he's got a bit more of a sort of bittersweet view of our life. Rosalie is, well, she's a lot sometimes but she's sweet deep down, it just takes some time to get on her good side really." She finishes with another giggle that makes the butterflies in my stomach erupt into a panicked frenzy.

"Huh interesting. Do you guys have like a mom too?" I wince at myself, feeling I could have worded the question better but she answers anyway with a smile.

"Yes, Esme, she's wonderful, I love her like I would my real mother, if I could remember her that is."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I don't really remember any of my life before I was changed. Charlise isn't really sure why, and I just try not to let it bother me. I would imagine I'd be much sadder if I could remember all that I've lost."

I watch her for a long moment, a certain somber look has made its way into her eyes and I wish it would go away. Such pretty eyes don't deserve to have so much pain hidden behind them.

"What about you? Any siblings? What are your parents like?" She questions into the silence and I feel myself stiffen.

"Uh well, no siblings. I have a cousin, Jacob, down on the reservation. We pretty much grew up together, he's like my brother." I tell her with a small smile. "My parents...well that's a...a rather different story. My mother died at childbirth and...and my father passed a little over a year ago, October of last year." My voice grows soft towards the end, I've been trying not to dwell too much on my loses, it only makes them fresh again.

"Oh Bella I'm so sorry." Alice's eyes look over at me with such concern and my heart swoons in my chest. "I didn't know, I wouldn't have asked."

"It's okay Alice, the past is the past, I try to leave it there, but sometimes you have to bring it up." I give her a reassuring smile that she returns.

I glance out the window and notice that the trees are blurring by at a rather unreasonable pace and I vaguely wonder just how Alice manages to drive this fast. I feel that I should be worried, but I've never really been one for self perversion, and even though I haven't known her long, I trust Alice. There's a familiar pang in my chest that always comes around when I think about my parents and I'm trying my best to squash it. This is supposed to be a fun day, the first time me and Alice have officially hung out, I don't want to ruin it.

"Here we are!" Alice's excited voice pulls me out of my thoughts and I focus my eyes on the windshield.

We pull into a large, crowded parking lot and search for a spot. We end up pretty far down the line and as my eyes take in all the people I feel a twist in my stomach.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

**XXXX**

**_Alice_**

Once I parked the car Bella and I climb out and start to make our way towards the shops. I'm nearly bouncing with excitement, I haven't been shopping in some time, most of the family avoid it all costs. Bella's looking around wide eyed and it takes a lot of willpower not to giggle, she looks overwhelmed.

"What's up Bella? You look worried." I smile at her as we make our way up the walkway to the first store.

"I...I've never really been much for shopping." She says after a moment. "There's a lot of people here, guess I wasn't expecting there to be so much going on."

"Well this is the closet to a mall we've got around here so people tend to take it seriously. It's always pretty busy."

She gives me a brief nod and I get the urge to loop my arm through hers. I'm not sure if it's for her comfort or my own but I do it anyway before I can give myself a chance to second guess it. She seems surprised, she glances down at me briefly with confusion in her eyes and a blush rushes up her cheeks. My heart swells, she's so damn cute when she blushes like that, I give her a brief smile and start walking. She lets me lead, which I'm sure is due mainly to her being unfamiliar with the area. I'm trying to contain myself but I'm all but bouncing for joy and Bella has a slight look of fascination as she watches me out of the corner of her eyes. I wonder what she thinks of me, what she thinks about all of this, but I'm unwilling to break this perfect silence. Usually at times like these I'd be talking a mile a minute but something about Bella keeps me calmer than usual, like if I say too much it'll break the spell and she'll decide that maybe she doesn't want to be friends with me. As it is, our friendship is a dangerous one, I don't want to do anything that might tip the balance.

The first few stores we head into are crowded and Bella stays close to my side which, I won't lie, has me on cloud nine. She smells good, but with that earthy wolf scent mixed in that keeps me from wanting to, well, suck her blood. It's much easier to make my way around all these other people if I keep my nose full of Bella, she drowns out everything else.

I quickly come to realize that Bella wasn't exaggerating about her lack of shopping experience, though I suppose I could have surmised that much from her decidedly not too great fashion sense. A lot of dull colors, a lot of t-shirts and jeans, it's not much to work with but I'm up for the challenge. I drag her from one store to the other, our arms always linked together as we move from place to place. I like how warm her skin is against my own chill, like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket after a chilly day outside in the snow.

"What do you think of this one?" I ask her as I spin out of the dressing room to the bench Bella's patiently waiting on.

Bella eyeballs me carefully, the color hasn't left her cheeks since I started this fashion show three stores back. She's got a silly smile on her face, one that sends me gushing in how open and sweet it makes her look.

"Looks good to me, I like the uh, the pants." She says as the blush darkens.

I glance down at myself, the tight black jeans I have on do look pretty good, they fit my form wonderfully. I wonder briefly if that's why Bella likes them or if she's just trying to find something constructive to say. I flash her my typical thousand watt smile and give a little twirl.

"You're right, I love them, I'm getting them."

This scene plays on into two more stores, each of my outfits causing Bella's face to turn redder and redder. My wolfy friend seems pretty frazzled, that goofy grin never leaving her face. She hasn't taken her eyes off me since we left the car and I have to admit it has me glowing. If my heart could beat it would be trying to shoot out of my chest by this point, much like Bella's is.

Eventually we end up in a shoe store and Bella once again confirms for me that she's not one for shopping. It takes all of two minutes for her to zero in on a pair of black Converse hightops and two pairs of Vans low tops, red and black. She moves quickly, it's easy to tell she knows what she wants. It also tells me that she doesn't switch it up much, which is something I'll have to work on. We finish up and start making our way towards my car when Bella's stomach let's loose a growl.

"Hungry then?" I giggle as she blushes once more.

"Heh, yeah I guess so. I'll eat when I get home." She says dismissively.

_Now's your chance Alice._

"Well about that." I begin, after taking a deep breath I don't really need. "I was wondering if maybe you'd want to come back to my place? I mentioned to Esme, my adopted mother, that you and I would be hanging out today." I pause for a moment to gauge her reaction but she just watches me quietly. "And, well, she'll take any excuse to cook since there's...there's so little chance really and so, if you want, she's probably overdone it and made a pound of food and we could go...eat?" I trail off, hoping against hope she'll say yes.

Bella looks at me for a long moment, she looks nervous and a little confused. _Hope you haven't scared her away stupid. Too eager, too much at once. I mean, come on Alice, invite a wolf into a house full of vampires? The very first time you hang out together? Stupid._ My internal thought train flies ahead of me as I wait for her to say something. _She's probably just trying to think up a nice way to say no._

"Uh yeah, I mean, sure why not."

When Bella finally speaks her voice seems to have risen in pitch quite a bit and her blush has darkened to the deepest red I've seen today. It takes all of my willpower to not start bouncing and squealing right there. Instead, I give her a huge smile and link our arms once more, leading her to my car.

"Is the rest of your family as nice as you?" Bella's voice breaks the comfortable silence we'd been in since we'd gotten on the road.

"Yes, mostly, other than Rose as I'm sure you know."

Bella laughs then, it's a confident one with such mirth that it makes my smile widen to impossible lengths.

"Yeah me and blondie aren't really besties I guess." She says still laughing. "She's kind of...terrifying to be completely honest."

"Yeah, Rosalie takes a little getting used." I grin back at her, loving the way she glows when she's laughing.

"Emmett and Edward you already know, Carlisle and Esme are the sweetest people you'll ever meet and Jasper is a good guy too. He has some trouble sometimes, around humans." I say slowly, trying my best not to scare her away with talk like this. "He's our newest addition so he isn't completely...used to our diet yet. But with you he should be fine, there's wolf in you and we can smell that, I think he'll be excited to be able to talk to someone new, they all will most likely. We don't socialize much outside of the family."

Bella nods, her eyes gazing out the windshield. I try to gauge the reaction on her face but she remains pretty passive. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not but I feel like this is all going pretty well, better than I could've ever hoped.

"I guess that's why Jasper always looks so uncomfortable in class." Bella says after a brief silence. "I wondered if maybe it had something to do with me. The pack told me you guys don't react like normal vampires but that it's still pretty, uh, strained."

"We try to keep the peace. Most of your kind smell rather bad to us, it burns our noses really, so it's usually just ideal to stay away from each other." I explain.

"Do I burn your nose?" Bella frowns, turning to me with panic surfacing in her eyes.

"No, you're different. You smell...well, you don't smell like the rest of them." I trail off, unsure of how to continue my sentence.

_Don't scare her away Alice_

Bella doesn't question my half answer, she just gives me a nod with a thoughtful look on her face.

"You don't smell bad to me either." She finally says. "Jake and them tell me you should, but I've never really noticed. Sometimes with your siblings it hits me a little but never you." She trails off, eyes glued to the windshield once more.

I store this bit of information away for later thought, maybe Carlisle will know why Bella seems to act so differently from the other shifters. We fall into another comfortable silence, each lost in our own thoughts. When we reach the house Bella stares up at it with wide eyes as I lead her towards the front door.

"Wow." She breathes out. "It's not what I was expecting."

"What exactly were you expecting?" I ask amused.

"It's just...so open, so bright. I mean, look at all those windows."

"Esme designs homes for a living, she designed this whole place herself. It's the only place where we can be ourselves, it's a pain to pretend to be human all the time." I explain. "We like things open and bright, at least when we're in the privacy of our home."

Bella gives me a nod of understanding and, with a cheeky grin, I link our arms once more and pull her into the house. I can smell food coming from the kitchen and the low murmur of voice so I pull Bella towards it. We enter the kitchen where Esme is bustling around the stove. Carlisle and Jasper sit at the counter, seemingly deep in discussion. They all look up as we enter and, in seconds, Esme is standing in front of us smiling.

"You must be Bella, I've heard so much about you from my children. It's wonderful to finally meet you, I hope you're hungry." Esme's voice is warm and casual, like it's everyday we have a wolf over for dinner.

She really is a wonderful person, it's impossible to feel uncomfortable around Esme. Bella smiles at her and I feel her relax slightly next to me. As if to respond her stomach let's loose another grumble, and Esme's smile widens.

"That's my husband Carlisle." Esme gestures behind her. "And Jasper I believe you already know."

Carlisle gives Bella a warm grin and a nod, him and Jasper seem to be keeping their distance. They don't want to make her uncomfortable, new wolves can be unpredictable when they feel cornered and a kitchen full of vampires feels like an accident waiting to happen. Bella seems calm next to me though, the slight shaking she exhibited when we first walked in seems to have subsided.

"Good to finally be introduced Bella, I rather enjoy watching the intense high fives you and Emmett give each other daily." Jasper says with his slight southern drawl and a tiny smile.

"Yeah he's got quite the high five game." Bella let's out a laugh that sends me swooning. "Where is the big lug anyway?"

"Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward are out hunting, we didn't want to be overwhelming for you." Carlisle explains.

Bella gives a nod and let's her eyes travel over the kitchen. They land on the counter where it looks as through Esme has prepared enough food for an army.

"You didn't have to go through so much trouble just for me." She says softly, a blush once more crawling up her cheeks.

"It's no trouble at all." Esme reassures her quickly. "I love to cook and the opportunity doesn't present itself often. Whatever you don't eat I can send home with you for leftovers. I wasn't sure what you'd like so I stuck to the basics, pasta and meatballs, garlic bread, chicken soup, pork chops, salad, spaghetti, the works."

"It all looks amazing, thank you for thinking of me." Bella says shyly.

"Any friend of Alice is a friend of ours." Esme smiles warmly at her as I lead her towards the counter.

Our arms are still locked together, a fact I know my family has noticed. Jasper has a smirk on his face and when I glance over he looks down at Bella's arm and back up to me, waggling his eyebrows. I shoot him a look and focus my attention back on my friend. Esme is piling a plate high with a little bit of everything while Bella watches, eyes wide and smiling like crazy. I'm so glad this is all going well, I'm practically bouncing with excitement as I watch my new best friend get along so well with my mom.

"Say Jasper, want to go finish that chess match up?" Carlisle says.

He wants to give Bella space to eat, I suppose being the only one in the room eating could be nerve wracking to her. Jasper gives a nod and the two of them make their way to the living room, leaving me, Bella, and Esme. We sit down at the counter, me to the right of Bella and Esme across from her. She hesitates at first to start eating, glancing at me a couple times before she takes the first bite. After that, all bets are off. The second the food hits Bella's tongue her eyes light up like the fourth of July.

"This is amazing." She shoots out before plowing down on her plate.

Esme and I smile at each other across the table as Bella devours her food like she hasn't eaten in a week. I wonder briefly if maybe there's some truth to that, she is ridiculously skinny, especially for a wolf. I file it away as a question for later. Bella makes her way through the plate in minutes, before taking down seconds and thirds. The whole time Esme beams at her, thrilled to have someone to enjoy her cooking. When Bella's finally done she attempts to wash her plate but Esme is quick to step in.

"No no dear, you're a guest!"

"Are you sure? You just made me all that food, the least I could do is wash my own plate." Bella says back.

"Don't worry about it hun, why don't you show her your room Alice?" Esme has this knowing look in her eye that I can't quite pinpoint and I give her a long glance before smiling back at Bella.

"Come on." I say lightly, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with me.

I lead Bella up the stairs as she gazes around with wide eyes.

"You guys sure have a lot of paintings and stuff." She says after a moment.

"Yeah." I laugh lightly. "All originals."

Bella glances over at me, confusion written across her face and it makes me laugh again.

"Carlisle has been gathering his collection for years, Esme helps. He's met most of these people, he's been around the block a few times."

"I'd say." Bella breathes out.

We reach the landing and I lead her down the hallway to the very last door. I push it open and pull her into my room as anxiety starts to knit together in my stomach. _I hope it's not too much of a mess in here for her. I probably should've cleaned up a little I suppose. I hope she doesn't think anything is weird._ I push the door closed lightly behind me as Bella moves to the middle of the room. I make my way to my bed, sitting down on the light blue comforter and watch Bella as she looks around. She's got a small smile on her face that I can't quite place but it makes my frozen heart soar. _God this girl is gorgeous._ Bella's dark eyes travel over the piles of clothing, store bought and homemade, some still on the mannequins partial sewn. She glances over my desk, covered in all manners of pens and pencils, charcoal and paint, and piles upon piles of drawings. When her eyes fall to the stencils and cork boards covering one entire wall my stomach seems to dip as the anxiety settles back in.

_The drawing._

As the thought flashes through my brain I see Bella's eyes widen. Curiosity and confusion swirl together in her chocolate eyes and I grimace.

_Stupid Alice, stupid._

"You're a pretty good artist." Bella says after a pause, there's a funny lift to her voice that I don't like.

"Thanks. I uh, it helps me to draw it out. Helps to get everything in order I suppose." I say softly.

"What do you mean? Like life?" She quirks an eyebrow and even through my worry I can't help but think about how cute she is.

"Well yes. Also...also it helps work out my visions." I say it quickly, hoping maybe if I say it fast enough, rip the weirdo band aid right off, maybe it won't be so bad.

"Visions?" She questions slowly.

I sigh lightly and stand up, making my way over to her carefully. I let my eyes fall on the wall behind her, knowing exactly what has led to this line of questioning. The picture I drew of Bella sits there prominently, one of the newer drawings I'd tacked up there.

"Sometimes." I begin slowly. "Sometimes my kind end up with...gifts I guess you could say. Usually it's something from when they were human, like Jasper. He can sense emotions, when he was a human he could read people very well and it...morphed, you could say, when he was changed." I pause for a moment to gauge her reaction but she's still looking at the picture on the wall, same as me.

"So you have a gift?" She asks.

"I can...see things."

"What do you mean? She glances over at me and my eyes lock onto hers.

"I can see the future Bella. I can see the path the someone is on once they decide it. Things change, the future isn't set in stone, but I'm usually pretty spot on. It's easier with people I know, like my family. But sometimes I get them from other people, people I don't know yet." I take a deep breath that I don't really need before going on. "It helps to draw them, as I have them or afterwards, so I can keep track. Sometimes it helps them make sense."

"So...so did you have a vision of me?" Bella's voice is soft, an expression I can't read on her face.

"Yes. That first day in the cafeteria, we met eyes, I don't know if you remember." At my words she blushes and I wonder briefly why.

"I do." She says quietly, and it occurs to me then how close we're standing, how we seem to have gravitated towards each other without even noticing.

_Maybe she feels it too._

"What did you see?" She asks after a silence that seems to last forever.

"That we were going to be friends."

"Which one of us decided that? To make it show up?"

"I'm not sure, it was just instant."

Our eyes are still locked, I'm trying to read her but it's not working too well and I wish for a moment that Jasper's gift was my own. _What is she feeling? What is she thinking? What am I thinking?_ The air is charged with something, electricity seems to surround us and if my heart could talk, it would be singing. I can't help it when my eyes flick down to her lips and I see the way her eyes darken in response. I wonder for a moment if things are about to take a turn when a long drawn out howl echoes through the room. Bella's eyes shoot up to my window and she lets out a groan before looking back to me with panic clear in her eyes.

"Listen Alice, I need to go. That was Jake, something's wrong, I need to get to the pack now. I don't have much time, if I shift at the edge of you woods could you grab my clothes? I can get them tomorrow or something, I don't know how long this will take." The tension is clear in her voice and I feel a pang of worry for her.

"Of course Bella I'll just bring them by your house, drop them off with the leftovers I'm sure Esme has for you."

"Oh thank god for you Alice." She closes her eyes for a brief second before looking back at me. "I had a really good time today, we should hang out again sometime." She pauses. "If you want."

"I had fun too Bella, and of course we'll hang out again. We're best friends now didn't you know?" I giggle.

"Oh right, of course." Bella grins at me. "See you soon short stuff."

She laughs as I let out a huff of annoyance and makes her way to the door. Her hand is on the handle when she pauses. I watch her curiously for a moment before she turns around, runs back over to me, kisses me on the cheek and then races away. I hear her call a quick goodbye to Esme, Carlisle and Jasper before the echo of the door closing rings out. My hand has drifted to my cheek as I stand staring at my open door, a goofy grin on my face. I'm not sure how this wolf that I barely know has managed to turn me into this puddle of mush but I'm pretty accepting of it. I may not know her well yet but I know in my heart that I'm ready to spend the rest of my existence finding out.

After a few minutes I head downstairs to my waiting family. Carlisle and Esme are sitting together on the couch while Jasper is in a chair not too far away looking at his chess board. Sometimes he runs games on his own, controlling both sides of the board. I flop down on the couch next to Esme, letting my eyes drift to the home decorating show they're watching.

"Somethings going on with the wolves Carlisle." I start. "I'm not sure what yet but that's where Bella ran off to. I'll see if I can get her to tell me, it might be good to know."

"It's always good to be in the know, though if things are bad it's likely that the pack will have to inform us. They typically do if they see any threat to the humans on our side of the line." Carlisle says in a thoughtful voice.

"Do you think things went well tonight dear?" Esme asks me with a smile that I quickly return.

"Yeah I think it went really well. She said she had fun, and that she wanted to hang out again. I think it all went great, so now Rose can relax. Bella isn't a threat to us." I finish confidently.

Carlisle nods as Esme continues to smile at me and I know in that moment that Esme has fully accepted Bella as another one of her children.

"And also she's all alone out there, I think she needs us." I say.

"What do you mean hun?" Esme looks confused.

"She lives alone, she told her her mother died when she was born and her father passed away recently."

"Oh no the poor dear." Esme frowns. "How can it be okay for her to live all alone? She's so young to be on her own."

"I'm not sure, she mentioned an uncle and cousin down on the reservation. Maybe he's her guardian."

"A child shouldn't be alone like that. We'll have to keep an eye on the poor girl." Esme says and confirms to me that Bella is indeed now one of her children.

"Of course dear, she seemed like a sweet girl. It must be hard on her, to be on her own." Carlisle says with a small sigh. "We can't very well leave her to fend for herself, we just need to be very careful. She is one of the wolves, we'll have to tread lightly." He trails off thoughtfully.

"She felt pretty at ease here." Jasper speaks up and all eyes fall on him. "She was nervous at first."

"Of course she was, the poor thing." Esme says softly next to me and I try not to laugh as Jasper gives her an indulgent smile and goes on.

"She relaxed quickly enough, especially once Esme got her hands on her. I felt mostly calm from her, she seems to already trust you Alice."

"Well, I would imagine she must, to willingly walk into a house full of vampires." I say with a small smile.

"I think, judging from tonight, that we don't have much to fear in regards to Bella. And, as far as I can tell, there's no separating them now, on either end. There's some kind of pull between them, the feeling isn't one I can name exactly but I can recognize it pretty well. Bella's drawn to Alice, in what exact way I'm not sure, but something's there." Jasper finishes with a brief smile in my direction.

_If my heart could beat it would be flying right now._

"We'll play this all by ear, just be careful to respect the pack Alice. We don't need any treaty trouble." Carlisle says lightly. "Other than that, I think she's a lovely girl and I'm glad you've found a friend." He says, giving me a warm smile.

"I'll be careful, don't worry about that." I promise. "Now Esme, how about those leftovers? Bella asked me to grab her clothes, she was going to shift at the edge of the forest. I told her I'd drop them and the food off at her house. I don't know how long she'll be out but I'd like to make sure she's okay. I'm going to just head over there now."

"Of course, come into the kitchen." Esme tells me while standing.

Esme packs up all the leftovers while I watch quietly. Now that I'm pausing to think the worry is beginning to settle in. _What's going on out there? What could the problem be and can they handle it? What if they _can't_ handle it? What if something bad happens?_ The thoughts swirl through my brain as I watch Esme bustle through the kitchen, packing food containers into a large bag. As if sensing my thoughts Esme makes her way to my side and gives me a warm smile.

"I'm sure she's fine out there hun, I know it's stressful not to know but you shouldn't worry too much about things you can't help. Just try to keep calm." She gives me a hug and I feel intensely grateful to have this wonderful woman in my life.

We stay like that for a few moments before she moves back to the counter, packing away the rest of the food.

"I'll be back, I'll probably hunt after Bella's." I say as I pick up the bags.

"I'll see you later dear, be careful."

"Always." I give Esme a bright smile and head outside.

It only takes me a minute to find Bella's discarded clothes a few feet into the treeline. I stuff them into the plastic bag I brought with me and head to my car. Her bags from our shopping trip earlier are still in the back seat. I stick the food back there as well and get in. I drive slow to her house, trying to take Esme's advice, trying not to worry. It's hard though, to not know exactly what's going on. I want to know what my new friend is facing out there. I want to know if whatever is happening now will bring the change I saw in my vision, the dark Bella with the sad eyes. I just want to know that she's alright. I get to her house much sooner than anticipated. I pull into the driveway and shut my car off, ready to wait however long it takes.

In the end, time doesn't hold out for too long. I'd been sitting for maybe twenty minutes when my eyes go dark and I feel myself fly away.

_It's the forest, it's flashing by so quickly it's almost a blur but it's definitely trees. There's wolves, four maybe five of them. I recognize Bella's chocolate brown coat among them. They're running, racing after something. I see flashes of flaming red hair, long and twisting in the wind as she flies along. There's a man with a ponytail a few feet ahead of her, laughing as they run with the wolves hot on their heels. Bella and a larger white wolf pull ahead until the two vampires split, racing off in different directions. Bella and the white wolf follow the man, they're fast, they're gaining on him when he suddenly stops and turns to face them with a smile on his face. His eyes are blood red. The white wolf flies at him but he doesn't run, he just throws out his hands and hits the wolf hard enough to send it flying backwards into a tree. Bella rushes forward, jaws open and snarling but the man is faster. He lets her smash into him, they fall to the ground as he wraps his arms around her and I know what's coming now, I can feel the horror rising inside of me. He squeezes and squeezes and Bella let's out a strangled howl and I hear the crack of bone and-_

When the vision clears I find my steering wheel crumpled in pieces in my hands. I'm out the door and running before the pieces hit the ground.

**XXXX**

**_A/N: Sorry this took so long guys, the next chapter is already in the works, the update time will be much shorter this time._**


	9. Church of Alice

**_Chapter 9_**

**_Church of Alice_**

**_Bella_**

As soon as I hit the woods at the Cullen property line I start stripping down. I don't know what happened but I know it isn't good, that howl was a distress call. It must be the stray vampires again, they must be back on the reservation. _What if one of them caught up to Jacob? What if he's hurt?_ I leave my clothes, phone and keys in a pile on the ground, trusting Alice to find them. I'm shifted and running in seconds, pounding my way through the trees in a blur. I let out my own howl, which echoes back to me immediately and I shift my path towards it. _The pack is close_. The trees fly by in a never ending mess of green and brown but I don't need to see them to know the way, my nose knows where it's going. What concerns me the most is that I can't hear Jacob, the moment I shifted his mind should have slipped into mine.

_Jake? What's happening?_

I'm hit with a wall of black and the foreboding bubbles in my stomach like acid. I push my legs on faster as the scent of the border hits my nose, knowing I'm getting close. I let out another howl and the response is close by. Within minutes I crash into a small clearing to find two wolves circling around a prone figure lying on the ground. _Jake_. My heart seizes in my chest at the sight of him even though I can see his sides rising and falling. He's alive but he's hurt, unconscious on the ground with two wolves standing watch, both of which can't tell me what's happened. A familiar white wolf bounds towards me and nods their head in the direction of the treeline, a kind of follow me gesture. _Leah_. I dip my head in agreement and follow her a little ways from the second wolf. She slips behind a line of overgrown bushes and I follow suit. In moments she shifts back and even though I'm anxious to get this show on the road I do the same.

"What's going on Leah? What happened to Jacob? Is he okay?" The words tumble out of me so fast I'm not sure that she'll be able to understand.

"He's okay, just unconscious for the moment. He was on patrol with Sam, Paul, and Seth, they were ambushed. It's the same bloodsuckers that've been lurking around. Sam and Paul went on ahead, the others are on their way. Seth will stay with Jake, we need to catch up to Sam, they may need help." Leah speaks quickly,the urgency dripping with every word.

"Let's go." I say simply before allowing my wolf to take over.

"Follow my lead and be careful." Leah says before phasing beside me.

Leah takes off running with me on her tail. She's quick and nimble and it takes me a moment to get into her groove. A few moments later a harsh scent slams into my nose and sets my hair on edge. _Bloodsuckers_. The difference in scent between the strangers and the Cullens is exceedingly clear, like night and day. Leah lets out a long howl that comes back to her instantly. She rights our course and it isn't long before we catch up to Sam and Paul. We fall in step with them, flanking the back as they lead the way forward. The smell of vampires grows stronger and stronger, sending waves of rage through my body. It throws me off, this blood boiling feeling that's racing through my body with every step. I've never felt this around any of the Cullen's, but then again their scent is nothing like this.

Sam lets out a heart stopping snarl and draws me from my thoughts. Just let go Bella, let the wolf take this. I focus all my attention ahead and catch the tail end of long red hair swishing away through the trees. From what I can tell there are two of them, and while they're fast we're gaining on them. Sam let's out another vicious sounding growl and Paul, Leah, and I echo it back. The hunt is on, the pack is ready, I'm ready. The blood lust pours through me and if I took a moment to pause maybe I would've recognized how similar we were to the vampires in this instant. My heart pounds in my ears and I hear nothing above it other than the pounding of paws across the ground. We break out into a brief clearing and I get a good look at the two for the first time. My eyes narrow, I see nothing else other than the blonde man and red headed woman running in front of us. This is my moment, these people hurt Jake, these people had killed god knows how many innocents, they deserved everything that was coming for them.

What I didn't prepare for was a fork in the path. The blonde man ran to the left while the red head went right. The pack only hesitates for a second before Sam and Paul go flying after the red head and Leah nudges me towards the man. I take off, racing down the left path, eager to make up for the brief moment of hesitation. Leah takes the lead, weaving through the trees like she was born in them. The blonde isn't far ahead, I can hear him and his scent, like acid in my nose, surrounds me and fuels my rage further. Leah lets out a growl and I follow suit, the sound of our anger flowing out and filling the air around us.

We break out into a clearing to the unexpected sight of the leech, standing at the far end right by the tree line. He's smiling, something that doesn't quite click in my brain. _Is this fun for him? Is this just a game to him?_ In the few seconds it takes these thoughts to race through my head Leah flies at him. He swats her away, as if she were nothing more than a fly, and she smashes into a tree a few feet away from me before slamming to the ground motionless. I let out a snarl that ripples through my entire body as I shoot myself forward. _I'm gonna wipe that smile right off his face. _The chuckle he lets out as I reach him doesn't register, all I see is red, I leap claws outstretched ready to rip his head from his shoulders. He spins away from me at the last seconds and all I manage to do is rake my claws along his back. I hear the fabric tear and I hear the growl he lets out as I whip around to face him again. He's still smiling but I can see the anger in his face. I let out a growl and set off running, leaping into the air as I near him. When I slam into him it feels like hitting a brick wall, and I realize in that instant that I'm not ready for this. No one prepared me to fight a vampire, not really, so maybe that's why I'm not expecting it when we both hit the ground and he wraps his arms around me. He squeezes and I feel what seems like several ribs snap and I'm trying to move, trying to get out of his grasp but I can't seem to break his hold. He squeezes harder and the pain blooms like fire across my body before everything fades to black.

*****

When I come back to myself all I feel is pain. I don't open my eyes, I don't move a muscle. All I feel is fire, fire across my entire body. _Is this what death feels like?_

"Shouldn't she be awake by now? Shouldn't we call someone?" A soft voice close by asks.

"Who are we gonna call Seth?" This voice is gruffer, and sounds distantly familiar to me.

"Well I don't know, someone."

"She'll be fine." A female voice, the concern underlying her tone defeating what she says.

I let out a whimper and in a second there's quick movement and then two pairs of hands on my fur.

"Bella, can you hear me?"

_Jacob. That's Jacob._

I let out another whimper and shift my body slightly. The pain doubles, whipping through me and crushing any kind of sane thought. I let out a howl that half sounds like a scream and then fall silent.

"Bella I need you to listen to me, you need to switch back. We heal fast but you've got some broken ribs we think, you need to be human to let them heal right. Can you do that Bella? Can you shift?" Jacob's words are urgent.

I whimper again and try to get a feel of my body, pinpoint the pain. It doesn't work all that well, everything is pain. I squeeze my eyes shut again and take a deep breath, knowing damn well that this is gonna hurt the most. I let another minute slip by before I gather myself and let my wolf slip away. It hurts, more than when I first woke up, more than anything has ever hurt in my entire life. My pained howl turns into a scream as I come back to myself and when it's over I can't see to make myself move. I feel something soft draped over my body and I silently thank whoever thought to bring me something to cover up with.

"We brought your clothes but I'm not sure if you're up to putting them on right now." Leah is speaking softly, gently, something I haven't heard from her in a long time.

"What happened?" My voice is rough, my throat feels like sandpaper.

"Well you went at the bloodsucker and he pulled a fast one on you. He intended to crush you to death basically but I got to you just as you passed out. I attacked him, he dropped you and took off. Those were some solid chunks you took out of his back though, good for you." Leah explains with a slight smirk.

"Where is he now?"

"Embry, Quil, and Jared showed up. I sent them after him and told Seth to come help me out over here. Jake was back on his feet by then so they got our clothes and met us here."

"And now Leah is gonna take you home, you're gonna need to rest. It'll take a few days for all that to heal up, but you will be okay given some time." Jacob says.

I don't have the energy to argue so I just nod.

"Okay great, me and Seth are gonna go after Sam, I'll be in touch soon Bella."

I give him another slow nod and attempt to sit up. Pain courses through my body and black dots start to dance in front of my eyes but I force myself up. Leah watches in clear concern, her hand half outstretched like she isn't sure if I'll take it or not.

"Could you give me a hand standing?" My voice comes out choppy, the words bleeding into each other to the point that I'm not sure she'll understand.

"Of course."

She leans down and I take both her hands before taking a deep breath. This proves to be a mistake as fire rips across my ribcage and I can't help the gasp that escapes me.

"Easy Bells, there's no rush." Leah's voice is still soft, like someone talking to a sick person in the hospital.

Bells. The name ripples through my brain, faded memories of Charlie slipping up from the depths of my consciousness. Just my luck, a little emotional pain to add to the physical. Leah grips my hands tightly and it only makes maybe a minute to get me on my feet. The issue is I can't seem to hold myself up, the harsh pain in my ribs builds across my entire body and leaves me breathless.

"God I'm gonna need a drink after this." I croak out.

Leah laughs and begins to lead me through the woods, arm tightly woven around my waist to keep me from collapsing. It seems to take hours to get out of the woods and to her waiting truck but really it's only about 15 minutes. I can't seem to climb up into the passenger seat myself and to my endless embarrassment Leah has to lift me. She's got this shit eating grin on her face the whole time that I can't quite figure out. _Is this fun for her? _Leah hops in the driver's seat and slams the door shut.

"Ready?" She asks while turning the key in the ignition.

"As I'll ever be." I grunt out.

We travel in silence for a few minutes. As I watch the trees go by I realize we're quite a ways out from the border, even further from home.

"How'd we get so far away?" I ask, really just to break the silence.

"That bloodsucker had us running pretty far." She says with a shrug.

"Thank you. For saving me." I say after a moment.

"Not a problem sunshine, but let's not make a habit of it okay?"

I laugh along with her and think to myself how nice yet weird it is to be laughing with Leah again. It feels natural, like all those years of radio silence never happened. As if she's reading my mind Leah takes a deep breath and starts to speak.

"I'm sorry you know. For all this time that we didn't talk. It was a weird time for me, a hard time, which isn't to say you also weren't having a hard time I just...I just wanted you to know that it wasn't because of you. I just wasn't quite myself, but I'm doing better now and I mean, well, you're part of the pack now even if you do hang around with the enemy. I just...we're cool right?" She trails off.

"Of course we're cool Leah, we never weren't."

"Sweet." She smiles over at me and pats my arm awkwardly.

I can't help but laugh which turns out to be a bad idea when my insides threaten to explode. We travel along in silence for a bit. We pass by the reservation and I know we're getting close to the border. Close to home, close to whisky. We come up over a hill, and I close my eyes as we coast down it. _Close to home, close to whisky. Close to home, close to whisky._ I chant along in my head, trying my best to ignore each stab of pain as we hit the bumps in the road. As I continue my chant I hear Leah let out a hiss beside me. I open my eyes to see a figure standing on the far side of the treaty line. _Alice_. My heart soars even as I tell myself to relax, I need to stop this obsession, these feelings but my heart doesn't care. My brain can say stop all it wants but it's already too late. My whole soul has devoted itself to the church of Alice and there's no going back, even if I wanted to. She's a goddess and I'm just on this earth to worship her.

"I guess you can let me off here." I say slowly.

Leah gives me a curt nod and rolls to a stop inches from the treaty line. She hops out of the truck and makes her way to my side before I even manage to get the seatbelt off. Alice watches, eyes wide in some kind of expression that I can't pinpoint. Leah helps me down and then wraps an arm around me again, supporting my weight more than I am. I don't expect her to speak to Alice but just like when we were kids she always surprises me.

"She's hurt, you'll have to carry her home if you don't have a car." Leah's voice is cool, but not outright hostile which I silently thank her for.

"Of course. Thank you, for getting her here." Alice seems awkward, something I've never seen in her before.

"Thanks Leah, let me know what happens alright? If you need me I'll get there, just call me." I tell her.

Leah gives me a curt nod and slowly loosens her hold on me. I take a step forward and all but fall into Alice's outstretched arms.

"Talk to yah soon Swan." Leah says before hopping back into her truck and driving away at what I'd deem as an excessive speed.

"What happened Bella?" The concern radiates out of Alice and wraps around me.

"It's a bit of a long story." My words come out twisted, the pain making my head fuzzy.

Before I even know it's happening Alice picks me up, holding my bride style in her arms.

"I'm going to try to move as carefully as I can but if it's too much let me know." She says.

"I can walk." I protest weakly.

She just smiles and makes her way to the woods on the side of the road. Once she deems we're deep enough she takes off running. The wind is strong and I shut my eye against it, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from crying out. I can feel Alice's eyes on me but I can't manage to reassure her. This is the worst pain I've ever experienced and I don't think my voice will work right. My stomach is flipping and I pray to whoever can hear that I don't lose my lunch. At some point I notice that we seem to be slowing down and I crack an eye open. I recognize this part of the forest, we're only a couple of minutes from home so I risk opening both eyes, the thought of my bed reenergizing me. When we reach the treeline Alice stops and looks down at me.

"Can you make it to the door? It might look a little weird if someone drives by and sees me carrying you." She says softly.

"Yeah I can manage." My voice comes out rough, the pain barely concealed.

Alice let's me down and I almost fall forward, my legs don't seem to be on my side. Alice reaches out immediately for me, steading me with worry all but radiating from her skin. I offer her a weak smile and start to slowly make my way through the year. She keeps an arm around me the entire time and I can't help but lean most of my weight on her. Each step sends stabbing echoes of pain throughout my ribs, just breathing seems to be too much. When we finally reach the front door I gesture to a large stone sitting on the steps.

"There's a key under there, could you grab it?" I can barely get the words out without screaming.

Alice bends down and grabs the key, swiftly straightening back up and sticking it in the lock. She leads me into the house and to the couch which I sink down onto gratefully.

"I'm just going to run out to my car quick." Alice tells me. "I have your stuff and also the leftovers. I'll put them away in the kitchen."

"Thank you." I breathe out before closing my eyes and trying to focus on steadying my heartbeat.

Alice is out the door and back before my eyes even close. She moves swiftly, gracefully, placing my bag of clothes on the hallway table and then slipping into the kitchen. It's not until she's in there for a couple minutes that it occurs to me what she'll find in there. All those bottles. _Oh god I should've cleaned up. What if she asks me about them? What can I say? How will I manage to play this off?_ I let out a low groan and sink further into the cushions, my brain running overtime. A short time later Alice returns, a funny expression on her face that I can't quite place.

"How are you feeling?"" She asks.

"Been better." I grunt out.

"Maybe I should take you to Carlise, make sure there's nothing seriously wrong?"

"No no, I'll be fine. We heal quickly."

"Are you sure?" The worry is coating her voice and making my stomach flip extra.

"Positive, I just need to relax for a few days and then I'll be right as rain." I try my hardest to keep my voice even, but I'm sure she can see the lies on my face.

We lapse into silence, Alice is looking off into the distance with a thoughtful look on her face and I can't help but stare. _She's gorgeous. Just perfect. What are we doing here? How can this end well when I know where this is heading? It would be so easy to fall in love with this amazing creature in front of me, so simple yet so...dangerous. A vampire and a werewolf. How could this ever end in anything but chaos?_

"Can I ask you a question?" Alice's voice pulls me from my thoughts.

"Yeah what's up?"

She pauses for a moment, looking at me with unreadable eyes and my stomach flips uncomfortably.

"Well I don't want to overstep, I mean this is the first time we've ever hung out."

"It's been one hell of a first time, might as well keep riding the wave." I shrug and then bite back a groan as the pain whooshes through me.

"What's with all the bottles?" She asks softly.

I close my eyes and let out a sigh. It's not like I couldn't see this question coming, I don't have to be a mind reader to know she'd be curious. I count to ten and open my eyes to her concerned ones. The worry is written all over her face and it hurts my heart to know I put it there. It hurts more to know I'm about to lie straight to that lovely face.

"Oh that? That's nothing, just a wolf thing." I try to come off nonchalant but I'm not sure I quite reach it. "It takes a lot more for us to feel anything with alcohol, it has something to do with the way our bodies run so hot. We just burn it off. All those bottles are from a couple parties we had, I haven't had a chance to uh clean up yet." I trail off, watching her face for a reaction.

"Oh I suppose that makes sense." She says slowly.

I watch her carefully but it seems like Alice is just as good at hiding her emotions as I am. Her face is blank, just the slight tightening in her eyes giving away any indication that she's worried. I try to smile at her but I know it doesn't reach my eyes.

"It's been one hell of a first hang out, huh?" I slip out, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah it has been." She says with a small giggle. "Never a dull moment with you Bella."

"Unfortunately." I grin.

"So what exactly happened tonight?"

"Nothing too crazy, just some rouge blo-, uh, vampires out on the reservation. We had chased them off once before but I guess they came back. They got Jacob pretty good but he's okay now. Leah and I took off after the male while Sam and Paul went after the female. He got the best of us I guess, he hurt Leah and I went after him and he...he tried to crush me I guess."

"We're they caught?" Alice's voice is stiff and I watch her curiously, trying to find where the shift came from.

"Not yet as far as I know, Jake said he'd call with an update at some point. How uh, how'd you know to be at the border?"

"I had a vision, I saw you get hurt, I just didn't know how bad it was. I was seconds from crossing the treaty line when you pulled up. I was so worried." She trails off.

"You don't have to worry about me Alice, it's pretty tough to take down a Swan." I say with a small laugh that doesn't sound all that happy, more pained.

Alice just hums, her eyes looking past me into the shadows like she can see it all happening before her very eyes. Which, I suppose, could be very well what's happening.

"Alice?" I say after a brief pause.

"Yes Bella?" Her eyes lock back on me and the butterflies in my stomach start their dance.

"This might be a weird question but uh could you maybe help me to my bed?" I ask awkwardly.

"Of course!" She says and hops up, making her way over to me.

She lifts me easily and slowly makes her way to the stairs. She moves carefully, like she's afraid I'll break, which may not be too far from the mark. Her scent swirls around me and I inhale it deeply, ignoring the pain in my ribs. _God she smells like heaven._ When we reach my room she lays me down gently on the bed and I sink into it gratefully.

"Thank you." I breathe out.

"Of course. Can I come back tomorrow? Maybe in the morning? If you want I mean."

"Yeah, sure, I'll uh I'll be here." I give her my best grin and she smiles back.

"Until tomorrow then."

With that she leans down quickly and plants a kiss on my cheek before spinning around and out of the room. Moments later I hear the front door open, then close. I close my eyes, my hand over my cheek, feeling the blush consuming my face. My heart beats a million miles a minute as my stomach does somersaults. God this girl is gonna drive me crazy. I let out a sigh and shimmy my body to the edge of my bed. I reach down as far as I can, fumbling for the bottles I know is waiting for me. When I finally get a hold of it and drag it up to my bed everything in my body screams in protest at all the movement. I pop the cap and start chugging. It burns going down but not nearly as much as my body. When the bottles empty I only feel slightly better, the pain dulled to a background drone. I feel nauseous, but I suppose that's to be expected. I squeeze my eyes shut and let out a sigh, praying that sleep will take me soon. Ten minutes later and the earth finally gives me some relief as sleep consumes me. My last thought before I drift away is of Alice, as always.


End file.
